Deseo del Corazón
by AWiltedRoseSighs
Summary: "These drops of blood will spell the name of the person that your heart desires." When the name appeared on the piece of parchment Hermione Granger looked up at the minister and said "Are you fucking kidding me?" Because the name on the page wasn't expected the red letters on the piece of parchment said,'Severus Snape'. Rated M for future chapters. Ring in the picture is TiffanyCo
1. Chapter 1

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.**

**And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!**

_**Deseo del Corazón  
**_

_**Chapter One**_

The world surrounding the Granger house was quiet, except for the noises from the t.v. in their living room. Hermione Granger sat with her parent's watching the television, as they always did late at night during the summer weekends. Summers were the time to relax for the young witch, and enjoyed laying back with her parents. Relaxed though she may be, when somebody knocked on the door, Hermione jumped up with her wand drawn and whispered, "Go stand by the back door, and if I fall I want you to run." They nodded solemnly and did as she asked, as she answered the door.

Once she had the door openned she saw a small delegation of ministry officials standing on their porch. The tall one in the middle, looking very much like a lion, asked softly, "Hermione Granger?" With her nod he continued to speak, "My name is Rufus Scrimgeour, and I am the Minister of magic. I have come to inform you and your family that a new law has been passed."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, "what kind of law?"

He took a step forward, "It is of the utmost importance that both my colleagues and I speak with you and your family inside."

"How do I know that none of you are death eaters in disguise?"

He shot her a patronizing glance, "Miss Granger, if I could do anything to placate your fears, I would, however, you will need to trust me until I can get what I came here to say out on the table."

Hermione's stance did not change, and she said, "will you make an oath on your wand that neither you or any of your colleagues will do any harm to either me or my parents?"

He nodded, and raised his wand slowly, as not to startle her, before he said, "I Rufus K. Scrimgeour do solemnly make an oath on my wand, that neither I nor my colleagues will cause any harm to Jean, Richard, or Hermione Granger." After he finished he raised an eyebrow at her, as if asking if that was enough.

She nodded and stepped aside to allow them entrance, as the minister was passing she said, "We'll do this in the living room, but you may need to summon some chairs."

In a few short minutes Hermione, her parents, and the delegation of ministry wizards were seated around the coffee table in the living room. After taking a sip from his glass of tea, the minister started to speak. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hermione, we have come here tonight to tell you that a new Marriage Law has been passed. Normally we would start at the beginning of an alphabetical list and work our way down, but there are some people, like 'the Golden Trio' who need protection from potentially problematic spouses. So with you, Harry, and Ron: along with a small amount of others, we are alerting you first."

Mrs. Granger asked, "who is on this list? I would hope that no married people are on it, as it would be destructive."

One of the officials said snidely, "The list is compiled of wizards and witches that are single and of age."

The minister said, "That will be enough ," as Hermione sent a glare at the man for his tone towards her mother.

Hermione kept his glare on him for a moment longer before turning back towards the minister and saying lightly, "Please continue."

"As I said, this is a marriage law, and to determine your future husband, or in a males case, their future wife, we take a small sample of your blood." He paused to take a small sip of tea, but when he openned his mouth to continue, he was interrupted.

"Blood?" Hermione asked, "How will my blood be able to determine who I am going to marry?"

The minister sat his cup of tea down before clasping his hands in front of him and leaning forward. "Before taking your blood we will give you a potion called _Esposo del deseo de mi corazón_, it was invented by a Spanish conquistador a few centuries ago. Loosely translated it means 'spouse of my hearts desire'."

Jean asked, "just how many people are going to be affected by this new law?"

The minister's face turned very serious, "All unmarried, of age citizens of magical Britain. During the seventh year at Hogwarts, all of the students that fall under this will be taking a few extra classes, primarily to prepare them for marriage. A child development class and such."

Hermione leaned forward, "May I ask again sir how my blood will determine who I am going to marry?"

"After taking the potion, we will prick your finger and let the blood fall onto a piece of parchment where it will spell out the name of your intended."

Hermione's face turned thoughtful, as her father asked, "what if the person is unwilling? Or if my darling daughter get's chosen by somebody else."

sneer grew. "The magic of the potion will only write the name after checking the others heart too. And as the minister said, after Hermione's blood chooses her mate, her name will be crossed off of the list."

"Mr. Fletcher, I would prefer it if you would stop snapping at my parents!" Hermione snapped.

Jean's curiosity broke through the silence that followed Hermione's statement. "How will it do that?" She asked, referring to the potion.

The corners of the ministers lips twitched. "Magic."

"May I speak with my parent's in the other room?" Hermione asked.

"Of course, take as long as you need."

The Grangers disappeared into the kitchen, where they had a whispered conversation, and were back before ten minutes had passed. "My parents and I have decided to do the ritual, but I was wondering if you could explain the process better?"

The minister nodded, and laid a blank piece of parchment on the coffee table in front of Hermione, and set a potion vial down beside it. "We will give you this potion, and after about forty-five seconds, you will begin to feel slightly light headed, but that will only be momentary. As soon as you begin to feel light headed, you need to repeat the name of the potion, and when we prick your finger, you will continue repeating it until the blood touches the paper."

Hermione nodded, "So after I begin feeling light headed I just repeat '_Esposo del deseo de mi corazón_'?"

"Yes." He paused, to let his answer sink in before he said, "take the potion when you are ready."

Hermione picked up the vial, and pulled out the stopper, and after a moment's hesitation, downed it's contents. Moving her tongue around in it's wake she said, "It tasted sweet."

The minister nodded, "we will prick your finger a minute after you start saying the name of the potion."

Though she hadn't been counting seconds, the light headed-ness hit her when predicted. So she started speaking, "_Esposo del deseo de mi corazón. Esposo del deseo de mi corazón._"

The minister had been staring at his watch, and after sixty seconds he held his hand out for hers, and touched the tip of her finger with a needle. Holding her hand above the parchment he squeezed her finger lightly, and the silence in the room was palpable as the blood swirled to form three words. Hermione gasped, because the blood had spelled out the name, Severus Tobias Snape.

**What did you think? I know that this chapter is a little bit short, but I can promise that the next one is longer. Next chapter will spend a small amount of time in the mind of our favorite snarky potions professor. Please Review. **

_Esposo del deseo de mi corazón - _Spouse of my heart's desire

Esposo - Spouse

De - Of

Mi - my

Deseo - desire

Corazón - Heart


	2. Chapter 2

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J. . So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.**

**Sixthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.  
**

**And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. This chapter is currently going through my beta, so expect mistakes. The betad chapter will be up as soon as I get it back.  
**

**Anon Review Replies  
**

**Wynter - Thank you for taking the time to review! I'm sorry that you didn't like it, and I hope that it gets better.  
**

**Moi - Thanks for your review! I did change the word for spouse, a review was Spanish, and offered translations better than the ones in my dictionary. I wanted to use the same word, even though I doubt it will be used again, but I didn't want to use a gender specific word. I had the minister there, because I figure having the minister there for something like this may produce less negative responses. She asks in this chapter. Of course I noticed the magic/muggle thing. I didn't do it that way for any specific reasons. I don't like the half blood term from a muggle born and another wizard either. I mean I get the reasoning for it, but I don't like it. I think that if they have magical blood, then they shouldn't be termed something to demean them. I don't like making references to blood status, because I don't like all of the emphasis. The ages of Hermione and Snape are revealed in either the fifth or the sixth chapter. Thank you for your review! If you have more questions after this chapter reply again!  
**

**lovealan - Thank you for your review! I'm glad that you liked it!  
**

**You may have noticed that the title has changed. I had a reviewer offer me a more correct translation. Enjoy.  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón  
**_

_**Chapter Two**_

Hermione Granger stared at the parchment before looking at the shocked wizards and bursting out, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Hermione Jean Granger, don't use that kind of language." Jean said.

Scrimgeour's look of shock didn't dissipate as he said solemnly, "I know that this may come as a shock to you, but this can not be changed. Mr. Snape will receive a letter some time tomorrow. The two of you will be expected to meet a ministry appointed counselor this Friday at noon."

Hermione's eyebrow rose in defiance. "And if I refuse?"

Mr. Fletcher simply said, "the breaking of this law is punishable by a life time sentence in Azkaban Prison."

Her parents may have been muggles, but they had heard of the Dementor guarded wizard prison called Azkaban. "Isn't that a bit harsh?" Her father Richard ground out.

"Mr. Mrs. and Miss Granger, the wizarding race is dying out, what with the wars that have ripped through our population. The ministry has decided that this is the best course of action, to ensure our nation's survival."

"That's an awful lot of pressure to put on the people of your nation, enforcing it as such." Mrs. Granger said, with a frown marring her normally peaceful face. "I understand it, but I don't think that it's right."

Hermione smiled slightly, she had known that she got her compassion from her mother. Mrs. Hermione Jean Snape... she couldn't wrap her head around it. Professor Snape was a great man, snarky conniving git that he may be, he was a great man. He had been her potions professor for six years, and would have been for seven, if not for her taking her N.E.W.T.S. a year early. He was an esteemed member of the Order of the Phoenix, and had been the well known confidante of Headmaster Dumbledore. But select people, knew that he had given his heart away to Lily Evans quite a few years ago. Lost in her thoughts she didn't pay attention to the conversation until the ministry officials stood and the minister held his hand out for her. "It was a pleasure seeing you again Miss Granger."

She stood to shake his hand, "you as well Minister."

As she was showing them out the door he turned to her and gave her a piercing look, "Don't forget about the meeting this Friday at noon!" He said softly, before walking away with the group of officials.

Hermione and her parents tried to get back into the television, but before too long she was standing up and making her exit. "Night mum. Night dad." She drifted up the stairs and into her room, where she silently changed and lay on her bed, staring at the lavender lace canopy. Mrs. Hermione Snape. Mr. and Mrs. Severus Snape. Hermione Snape. Hermione woke up to the soft light coming in through her window. Was it a dream? She asked herself, before moving over to her desk, she'd write Ron and Harry, to see if they had received a visit as well.

_Harry,_

_ I'm just curious, because I myself can hardly believe that it happened, but by any chance were you greeted by an assortment of ministry wizards either late last night or sometime early this morning? If you were, then I think we should get together. I am also owling Ronald._

_ Hermione_

She moved quickly to write the letter to Ron.

_ Ron,_

_ I'm writing to both you and Harry, as I would like to know if you met with a small contingency of Ministry officials either late last night, or early this morning? If not then forgive me, I must have just had a very funny dream._

_ Hermione_

She folded the parchment, and sealed it with a wax set that she had gotten her last time in Diagon Alley, coincidentally the same trip that she had gotten her owl Apollo on. Having graduated from Hogwarts a year early, she needed an owl, both to keep up with her friends, and to speak with future employers. So far she had her, resume' so to speak out to several places, including Hogwarts. She sent off Apollo, with instructions to drop Harry's off before Ronalds, seeing as how he had an owl and would respond faster.

Hermione tidied up her room slightly, and before long she heard a light tapping on the kitchen window. She let Hedwig in, and took the letter off of her outstretched leg. She softly patted the snowy owl on her head a few times, and gave her a bit of toast, before opening the letter.

_Hermione,_

_ I too received a visit from the ministry. I sent a letter to Ron as well, and he said that we should meet up at the Burrow at ten. (I'm sending this at eight thirty, so you should have about an hour before you need to apparate.). I would ask who your blood chose, but I figure the great revealings will be done when we get together._

_ Harry_

"Hermione, breakfast is ready!" Jean called.

"Coming mum." She walked down the stairs slowly, and sat down at the kitchen table by her father. "Hi dad."

He gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Hey sweetheart."

"Do either of you care if I meet Harry and Ron at the burrow around ten?"

Her mother smiled, "Of course not sweetie, are you guys meeting up to talk about the thing from last night?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I sent them a letter as soon as I got up, asking if it was a dream, and they responded saying that it wasn't."

Her dad smiled. "Of course it wasn't, even your goofy mind couldn't make that up. By the way, who is Snape?"

Hermione's face darkened slightly. "He was my potions professor at Hogwarts."

Jean wiggled her eyebrows. "Did you get jiggy with him in the dungeons?"

"On that note, I doth depart." She stood up and kissed her mothers forehead. "I'll be back later." She walked out of the house, and down her street and the next until she reached the alley behind the local convenient store. Making sure there were no muggles watching, Hermione spun on the spot, and apparated to a spot right outside of the fence that surrounded the Burrow.

She walked slowly up to the door, and when she knocked the door was jerked open and she was yanked into a hug by her surrogate mother. "Hermione my dear, you'll be staying for lunch right?"

"Of course Molly." She nodded, as she at down at the solemn table. "Who would like to go first?"

Harry's lips twitched as Molly bustled around the kitchen, charming the dishes to wash themselves, and cleaning the floor. "Well, you can imagine the reception that they got at my place. I openned my door and they got a wand in their face."

"Of course, what else would they expect from the boy who lived?"

Harry mock glared, before bursting into a grin. "I completely refused, until they told me about the life time sentence in Azkaban, and even then, I was down right reluctant, but thankfully, when my blood dripped on the paper, it spelled Ginny's name."

Ginny sat down beside him and kissed him on his cheek, and turned to Hermione. "I've barely been holding myself back from throwing myself at him for years, and he doesn't realize it until after the ministry passes this law."

Hermione smiled back. "I told you that you just had to be yourself." She turned to Ron, "So who did you get? Tell me it wasn't Millicent Bulstrode!"

Ron's face turned slightly green. "No it wasn't, not from her lack of trying of course. I got Lavender Brown."

Hermione smiled again, the Slytherin had been trying very hard to get together with Ron after the final battle. Harry turned to her, and the smile dropped from her face. "So, 'Mione, who did you get?"

Grimacing at her hands she said in a quiet but firm voice, "apparently, the person that my heart desires is.." Her voice dropped, despite the fact that she knew he was a good man now, he didn't used to be.

Harry reached a hand across the table, and lay it on hers. "Come on Her-my-own-ninny, it can't be that bad."

She looked up and met his emerald orbs. "Yes it bloody well could."

"Who?"

"Severus Snape." She said quietly, looking down again, amidst the gasps of confounded shock.

**~ Severus's P.O.V.~**

"Thank you Pipsy, have fun on your day off tomorrow." The usually sneering man said to the little house elf that had just placed his food on the table in front of him.

There was a light tapping on the window, and she rushed off to it. "I'll gets it sirs. Enjoy you're breakfast."

Severus Snape disliked having a house elf, but she had been his mothers, and when she passed, the elf had cried until he agreed to keep her. His deal had been that she take one day off and a galleon a week. When she set a large padded envelope on the table in front of him he gave her a quiet, "Thank you." He turned the letter over, and groaned when he saw the seal with the letters M.O.M. around it. Breaking the seal with a long finger, he lifted his cup and took a sip of orange juice with his other hand. When he single handedly pulled out the thick packet, and when he read the first paragraph, he spit his drink across the table.

"Is the orange juice tasting okays sir?"

"Yes, Pipsy, it's fine."

"May I be so bold to ask whats was in the letter sir?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he said, "it appears that I am to be married."

The house elf wrung her hands together, "that is joyous news sir. Shalls I get you a glass of fire-whiskey sirs?" He nodded and closed his eyes, bringing forth a picture of the red haired goddess that had ensnared his senses since the age of nine. "Heres you go sir." She said, handing a slightly steaming glass of fire-whiskey over to his master. "So who will be my Misses sir?"

Suddenly the image of Lily Evans morphed to the brightest witch of her age. "Hermione Granger."

**So, what did you think? I was hoping that this chapter would end up a little bit longer, but as promised in the last chapter it is longer than the last one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J. . So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. I'm not big on cliffhangers, but the end of the first chapter was a cliffie (sort of) and I looked ahead at my prewritten summaries, and chapter five has a cliffie too. So, I apologize before hand.**

**P.S.S. I know that Hermione goes over the name thing a lot, but you got to admit, even the brightest witch of her age has to get stumped every now and then.**

**P.S.S.S. The next chapter is going to be kind of short, and I'm incredibly sorry about it.  
**

**P.S.S.S.S. After this story is complete I'm going to upload a one-shot, with all of Hermione's fantasies in it.  
**

**Anon Review Replies  
**

**Linda - Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad that you like it so far. Thanks again! Anje  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón  
**_

_**Chapter Three**_

As the light slowly seeps into her bedroom, Hermione Granger sits up and runs her fingers through her hair. After sitting for a while, she gets up and changes into her jogging pants and sweat shirt, deciding that a run will help her put her thoughts in order. 'It's Thursday, tomorrow, I will meet up with Professor Snape and the ministry official to discuss our impending nuptials'. She thought to herself, as she stepped out of her front door, and jogs off down the street. She was going to marry her potions Professor. Mr. and Mrs. Professor Severus Snape. Hermione Jean Snape. As she mulled over her soon to be name, she smiled slightly. Despite the fact that he was nearly twenty years older than her, it sounded a lot better than being married to Malfoy. Her smile turned to a grin at that thought, before looking at her watch. The Weasleys had said that she could spend the remainder of the Holiday there, and she relented, grateful for the comfort and the fact that she could use their floo to get to the ministry instead of having to use the visitors entrance.

When she arrived back home from her walk, her mother yelled out, "Hermione is that you?"

"Yeah mom, I went for a jog to clear my thoughts." She yelled back, continuing her trek up the staircase.

"You going to the Weasleys today?" Her mom called as she grabbed her clothes for a shower.

"Yeah mum. Hey I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay, try not to think of your potions professor too much while you're in there."

Despite the fact that she was on a different floor as her mom, she still blushed. "Shut up mom." She muttered, stomping towards the bathroom. As she was taking her shower though, her mom's comment kept bringing up old fantasies. She was washing her hair when she slipped into one.

_ "Miss Granger, your potion is unacceptable, you will stay after class to complete it again!" Snape ground out from behind her._

_ She turned with a glare on her face. "Professor that is not fair!"_

_ "Twenty points from Gryffindor for your cheek!" He sneered, walking towards the front of the mysteriously empty classroom. _

_ She looked around and decided that since it was empty she could talk back more. "Which cheek professor? My left one or my right."_

_ He turned around with a glare. "Miss Granger, your innuendo is entirely inappropriate! I will not have that in my class!"_

_ Starting from where they were on her hips, she slowly slid her hands up her sides, and over her breasts, before she unbuttoned the top three buttons. "Then where will you have it sir? Your office? Your private store cupboards?" She walked up until she was an inch away and leaned up to purr into his ear. "Your bed?"_

_ She didn't give him time to respond, as she finished the last button on her shirt, and wiggled her shoulders, to allow it to fall to the floor. "Miss Granger, I must ask that you put your shirt back on." Snape said quietly, as she leaned against the edge of a desk._

_ "Why Professor?" She asked, running her finger from her chin, down her neck, and then slipping into the cup of her bra._

_ She wasn't expecting him to grab her, and pull her so tight against him that she could feel his erection. "Because if you don't, then I might not be able to stop my self from ravishing you."_

_ She tilted her head back, and stood on her tippy toes until their lips were only a breath apart. She placed her hands on his chest, and slid them down his sides, and lightly cupped his erection. "But what if I want you to rav-." She didn't finish, because he placed a searing kiss against her lips. She groaned, and kissed him back with a passion. _"Hermione, will you hurry up in there? I need to take a shower for work today, and if anything you're probably the one that needs a cold shower." Her mom yelled from outside of the bathroom door.

"Almost done," she said back, and finished rinsing herself off, and quickly dried and got dressed. When she openned the door her mom was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.

"That was a long shower you took, did you get distracted sweety?" Her mom asked with a knowing grin on her face.

"Yeah, I got shampoo in my eye and it took forever to rinse out." Hermione walked to her room, and began to pack her stuff. After the others went off to school, Hermione was going to start applying to places. Like Flourish and Blotts, the Leaky Cauldron, and the other places in Diagon Alley. As she was putting the finishing touches on her luggage, she heard a tapping noise, and turned to see a beautiful silver owl. She let it in, and took the letter and small package from around it's leg. Not recognizing the hand writing she openned the letter, and gasped when she saw the heading.

_Miss Granger,_

_ Doubtful as it may be with our history, my mother raised me to be an honorable man. Combine that and the fact that in a letter I received from the ministry demanding that I send you a gift before our meeting at the ministry tomorrow, I have decided to send you two, (technically three). _

_ The Silver owl that delivered this to you is yours now. I have been calling her Aphrodite but you may change her name if that is your desire. I now ask that you open the package and use an engorgio on it._

Hermione turned to the small package with a grin on her face, and pulled the twine bow that held it shut, allowing the paper to fall off. She picked up a beautifully carved box with a gold latch on the front. Looking back towards the letter, she tapped it and it grew larger. "So beautiful." She whispered. She picked the letter back up and continued reading.

_ The music / jewelry box that you hold in you hands was my mothers and it was her wish that should she die, it was to be given to my inteded. Inside of the box you will find somethings that you will need to engorgio as well. They are the third and final gift, and are the supplies that are needed for caring for your new owl._

_ Until Tomorrow,_

_ Severus Snape_

_P.S. I know that you have an owl, but Aphrodite is keyed into my wards, and is one of the few owls allowed to enter any of my properties. As you can imagine, with my previous profession, I have received a lot of hate mail, and wished for it to stop._

Hermione leaned against one of the posts on her bed. She could leave Apollo for her parents, and have them owl her when they needed supplies. Well, they could get supplies at a muggle pet shop, but the magical supplies were healthier, since they were magical creatures. She caressed the lid of the box again, and tears sprung to her eyes. It was his mothers, who was dead, and he gave it to her.

Checking her watch again, she sighed as she put everything that she would need, except for her new owl cage into her trunk. She openned the door of the cage to allow the owl to get in, but Aphrodite simply turned her head to the side and looked at Hermione like she was stupid. Never the less, when Hermione looked down at the cage, she mentally smacked herself, before grabbing some some bedding out of Apollos bag, and putting a light layer down at the bottom of the cage. She set the bag back by Apollos stuff and grinned when she turned back, because Aphrodite was in her cage.

She minimized her trunk and stuck it into her pocket, and then levitated all of Apollos stuff into his cage. She walked down the stairs feeling slightly uneven, with Aphrodite on one side, and a heavy cage full of supplies on the other. "Hey mom." She called out, walking into the kitchen.

"Yeah," She called down.

"I've got to go, but I moved all of Apollos stuff down here, so that you guys can write me when I'm gone!" She said, putting the heavy cage down on the table.

"Okay, talk to you soon!" She yelled, and Hermione grinned as she walked out of the door, and to the nearest apparition point. With one last look at her new owl, she spun on the spot, and apparated to the outskirts of the Weasleys property.

_**So, what did you think?**_


	4. Chapter 4

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**Sixthly, I figured I'd add this in. I don't intend to write short chapters, but some of them will be shorter than others. The chapter lengths will fluctuate, and I'm sorry.**

**And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I was blown away. I'm glad that you guys like it. :)**

**Anon Review Replies**

**mundy - Thanks for taking the time to review! I'm glad that you think that! Thanks again! Anje**

**Beautiful-liar13 - Thanks for the review! I'm glad that you like it! Anje**

**Jadarainbow - Thank you for the review! :) Glad that you liked it, and I hope that I updated soon enough for you. Anje**

_**This chapter was beta-d by Aimless Wonder. Thanks again Aimless. :)**_

_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Four**_

Hermione stood outside the Burrow for a moment, thinking about how much her life had already changed since Monday night when the Ministry had visited her. Controlling her thoughts, she finally trudged her way across the yard towards the front door. However, before she had even gotten her hand on the doorknob the frame was suddenly flung backwards, and Hermione found herself yet again engulfed in another hug.

"Hermione," Molly greeted as she held her for a moment.

"Molly."

Hermione returned the hug generously before the elder woman released her. "We saw you on the clock. Come. Everyone's inside," said Molly as she turned to move back into the house.

Closing the door behind her, Hermione followed after the matriarch, before moving around the corner into the living room where everyone else was already seated. She noticed their attention shift from her to Aphrodite as she sat down the new cage on top of the coffee table. From his perch near the small window, Apollo flew over and settled himself down on her shoulder; the owl was waiting to greet her before going off hunting.

"Hey, there." She reached up with one hand to stroke his crown while the other fished into the pocket of her coat to withdraw a small tin. "I'll need you to stay with mum and dad after a few days, alright? That way they can get a hold of me whenever they need to."

Swallowing the offered treat, Apollo nipped her cheek affectionately before flying past her and out the open window, no doubt to join the others. As he left, Hermione turned back to everyone.

"Hello."

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

She looked to him, "Yes?"

"Where'd you get the owl?"

"Oh."

She looked down to hide the slight blush across her cheeks.

"She's a gift from Snape. He mailed me this morning about how the ministry stated that he had to give me a gift. Her name's Aphrodite."

She contemplated on whether or not to mention the music box.

"He gave you an owl?" Ginny asked as she observed the bird, "I guess that's not so bad. She is beautiful. Though Harry's was probably more romantic. He gave me this."

The redhead reached up and pulled a necklace out from under her shirt.

"I found it when I went looking in the family vault," said Harry as he took Ginny's hand, "The ministry said that I had to give her something, but that didn't mean that I didn't want to. So I gave her the necklace. The portraits said that it belonged to my grandmother, and that my grandfather gave it to her before they got married."

The last part was said with a blush so Hermione turned her attention to Ron. "And what about you? What did Lavender get?"

Ron looked down and mumbled something.

"Sorry? What was that?"

Harry laughed, "He sent back the necklace that she gave him a few years ago."

Her brows shoot up as her head jerked back in surprise. She shoot Ron a look of utter disbelief, though she was trying very hard to keep the smile off her face.

"No," Hermione whispered, "Ron... you didn't."

"Oh, he did," Harry said.

"And what did she say?"

"Her reply came back this morning. Said that she thought it was horrible that he couldn't think of anything original!"

Her shoulders were shaking now. "It gets better," said George.

"Yeah," continued Fred, "She sent a howler."

"Woke up the whole house with her screeching," said George, rubbing his injured ear, "Almost thought that we were having a banshee invasion. As if I needed an excuse to lose another ear."

Unable to control it anymore, Hermione sunk down to her knees on the floor as a snort escaped her, which erupted into laughter shortly after.

"Hey!" Ron yelled in indignation, "It's not that funny!"

If anything it just made all of them laugh even harder. "Yes, it is!" She fired back, "And also a bit concerning, wouldn't you think, Ronald? That Severus Snape- a 'slimey Slytherin'- could make a more romantic gesture than a 'bleeding heart Gryffindor'."

At his answering glare, Hermione only scoffed at him, "You honestly think that that looks going to scare me after being tortured and having mudblood carved into my arm?"

The words were out before she stop them and Ron's face turned blank as Ginny gasped; none of them had really talked in detail about what had happened the year that the three of them had gone.

"Hermione," said Molly as she came closer, "May I see it?"

Giving her a sad smile and a nod, Hermione reached down and pulled up her right sleeve, and in the sudden silence of the room Molly Weasley gingerly took the young woman's arm into her hands.

After all the time that had passed, the scars were still fresh against her skin. They had neither softened nor faded. Whatever the curse that had been used on the dagger was, it assured that Hermione would not be getting rid of the word on her skin anytime soon.

"Who?" Whispered Molly as she looked down at the scars.

She started to shake her head, "Molly-"

"Who?"

The grip on her arm tightened slightly and Hermione grimaced as she averted her gaze. She gave a sigh.

"Bellatrix."

The hands left her arm, only to come up and cup the sides of her face. Molly gently turned her head to face her and Hermione caught the tears running down her face.

"I promised myself at Hogwarts that I would not allow that woman to hurt another member of this family. Not after how she went after Ginny," she sobbed as she brought her hands down to pull Hermione into another hug, "But I hadn't realised that she'd already hurt one."

_**So, what did you think?**_


	5. Chapter 5

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!  
**

**P.S. Thank you for the reviews! Once again, I was just blown away. My younger sister has just started writing, and I'm going to show her my folder in yahoo that holds my reviews, and tell her that these people are why I keep writing. Because the number of reviews are really inspiring, and it's just greatly appreciated! Thank you all.  
**

**Anon Review Replies  
**

**kimber - I'm glad that you liked it! I'm sure that she'll tell them, I just wanted her to talk to him about it first. Thank you. Anje  
**

**Jadarainbow - Thanks! You're very welcome, and I'm glad that you think that. Anje  
**

**guest - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it! Anje  
**

**Delilah Moon - Thank you! First off may I say that I love the McGonnagall photo! And I wanted Severus to show that he can be different than what's expected of him because of his not so good back ground. I wanted to show his more, shall I say it romantic side. Though that wasn't much romance. I could totally see Ron doing that as well, the boy is.. not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed. (Sorry for the Juno reference). Glad that you liked it! Anje  
**

**mundy - Thanks for the review! I just couldn't see Ron doing something romantic. I imagine that he probably thought that Lavender would be complimented by the fact that he still had it. Glad that you liked it! Anje  
**

**Emma - Thank you! I'm very glad that you like it, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well! Thanks again. Anje  
**

**_This chapter was beta-d by BellasTrick. Thank you._  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón  
**_

**Chapter Five**

Hermione Granger was doing something that bushy-haired-know-it-alls do not do. She was fidgeting in the chair that was exactly two to the left of the one exactly in front of the door of the Department of Family Affairs office. Where, in half an hour, she and Severus Snape would be meeting with an official to speak of their upcoming nuptials. She still didn't understand why the potion had declared him as being her soul mate. "I mean sure, I've had my share of fantasies about the man, but who hasn't." She thought back to the fantasy she had in fifth year that she had thought of in the shower yesterday. She could definitely remember where it had left off due to her mothers interruption. _One hand slid up her back, and entangled itself into her hair, so that he could pull her closer. The other slid down her hip and around to cup her ass, and lift her up to sit on the desk behind her. She moved her hands from his erection up to the buttons on his robes, and swiftly unbuttoned them, shoving his robe off of his shoulders and onto the floor. "Hermione," he uttered in his voice of silk, before kissing a trail down her neck, to the tops of her breasts. _"Definitely had a lot of fantasies about him, but the man's fucking mysterious."

She was expecting her thoughts to become clearer, not the silk voice that had just muttered her name in her head, beside her saying. "Miss Granger, not only is your language atrocious but the fact that you talk to yourself in public almost makes me wish that I hadn't agreed to this!" Severus said, without a sign of a sneer on his face. Hermione turned her head in shock and nearly groaned aloud at the sight of him. He looked so much younger than he used to. 'Probably because he doesn't have old Moldy Shorts hanging over him like the Guillotine blade'.

He was sitting in the seat next to her and she smiled lightly, "Are you sure it wasn't because the other option was a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban, Professor?"

He quirked an eyebrow at the word Professor. "Miss Granger, I think that since you finished your Hogwarts education last year that you can stop calling me Professor."

Hermione's smile widened, and she had to fight herself to stop from purring in his ear, what she whispered, "So what shall I call you? Sir?"

"If you were so inclined, you may call me Severus." He said, and her mind flashed to a different fantasy. _Her wrists were tied to her bed posts with torn pieces of her Gryffindor scarf. She was lucky that the other girls in her dorm were gone for the holidays, because the moans were rolling off of her with every thrust that he made. "Severus." She moaned, arching her back, and raising her hips to meet his._

She was brought out of her day dream when the door across the hall from them burst open, and two people stormed out, and promptly stomped off in opposite directions. A robust man followed them out and called out the names, "Hermione Granger and Severus Snape." They stood, and stepped towards the man, who then moved backwards into the office and said lightly, "Please, come in." The man sat down in a chair behind the desk, and motioned them towards the love seat on the other side. When they were comfortable, he leaned forward and held out his hand for them to shake. "Hello, my name is Harold Mulligan, and I'll be over looking your case."

Hermione's nose wrinkled at the term he used. "Our case? That's a rather insensitive way to refer to our upcoming marriage."

As Harold shook Snape's hand he glanced at her. "I meant absolutely no offense Miss Granger, but you two are the fifth couple that I've seen so far today. As you may have noticed, as the last one left, not everybody is thrilled about this law."

She nodded her head. "Please sir, call me Hermione." She ignored the images of Snape plunging into her as she continued, "I'm not exactly thrilled either, to be forced into something, but the way that the minister explained it, it was either this or imprisonment."

"I'm sorry Miss Granger, it's not proper for me to call my 'clients' so to speak by their first names." He handed both Hermione and Snape a roll of parchment. "On that roll of parchment is a list of guidelines for this 'engagement', shall we call it."

From the corner of her eyes, Hermione saw Snape lean forward. "Guidelines?"

Harold nodded, "Some of the couples have never met the person that the potion chose for them. Certain measures must be taken to ensure their safety. Like the last couple for example; the two of them have been at each others throats since they started school. Her name was higher on the list and therefore she was given the potion. He said that he refuses to fall in love with someone as cold-hearted as her." He straightened a pile of of parchment on his desk before looking back up at them. "Will you clasp hands and hold them out towards me." He said, and even though it sounded like a question, Hermione knew that it was a command. Even so, when a warm and soft hand slipped into Hermione's hand, and moved to hold them out above Harold's desk, a gasp fell from the young girls lips. Mr. Mulligan's wand hovered above their hands and after taking a breath he started speaking. "It is both my duty and my pleasure to see over his betrothal. Hermione Jane Granger; resident of Great Britain, age 20. You are here to become betrothed to Severus Tobias Snape: resident of Great Britain, age 23."

Before she could stop herself, Hermione looked at the man like he was mentally incompetent. "What? That's impossible." ********

Harold gave her a look, "I can assure you Miss Granger, that I have only spoken the truth."

"But Sir, I'm only 18!" She said adamantly.

The man opened a file on his desk. "Did you or did you not use a time turner for your third and forth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"Yes sir, but-."

"Was it or was it not explained that you would age faster while you were using the time turner?"

"It was, but what about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, waving her hands towards the mentioned man.

"Severus," Professor Snape said, finally joining in. Hermione looked at him quickly before turning back to Howard.

"Fine!" she exclaimed. "What about Severus?"

"You know, you could ask me. I think that I might know." Snape ground out, anger rising in his chest.

She turned to him and his anger dissipated like a shadow in sunlight. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just found out that I'm two years older than I thought I was, and that you're some how like twenty years younger than I thought you were. " Her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall. "Yesterday was a very emotional day, and I guess that I shouldn't have held my emotions in."

His thumb caressed the back of her hand. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, and raised her right sleeve, revealing where the word Mudblood was carved into her arm. "Yesterday, Molly saw this for the first time and she started crying because she didn't know about it. Since the end of the war, neither Ron, Harry, or I have really spoken about what went on while we were on our search. It shocked her, and she told me that she thought of me as a daughter."

It took a few minutes for Hermione to calm down, and when she did, she wiped her face and looked up at the Professor. "So, how are you only twenty-three years old?"

He took a deep breath, and then swallowed. "As you know, Nagini was a very odd snake. Magic transformed her venom into something much more deadly, and there is no known cure. Since I had figured that my life would end because of that snake from the beginning of your fifth year, I've been working on a possible anti-serum. I combined essence of bezoar, fire whiskey, multiple other ingredients, and time turner dust."

"Time turner dust?" she squeaked.

He nodded, "Yes, time turner dust. I figured that if I couldn't use a direct anti-venom to the viper poison then I could possibly revert it to a less potent stage. I just didn't know that it would have this effect on me."

Hermione Granger, bushy haired know it all, was shocked. Not only did the potions Professor invent a potion to negate the effects of a fatal snake bite, but also figured out how to make himself younger. She turned to Mr. Mulligan, who nodded at her, as if in confirmation. He then picked his wand back up, and the Professor grasped Hermione's hand again and moved it forward. He cleared his throat again before he began speaking. "It is both my duty and my pleasure to see over his betrothal. Hermione Jane Granger; resident of Great Britain, age 20. You are here to become betrothed to Severus Tobias Snape: resident of Great Britain, age 23. Miss Granger, do you accept this betrothal, and all that it entails?"

Still shocked, she looked at the Professor. "I accept." she whispered, staring into his onyx eyes.

"Mr. Snape, do you accept this betrothal, and all that it entails?"

"I accept." he said, without hesitation, and without unlocking their gazes.

"By the power vested in me by the Minister of Magic, I declare that you are betrothed." As he spoke, sapphire flames wound around the hands of the Snarky man, and the brightest witch of her age. He then set his wand down. "Now that the official part of this is over, I need you two to fill out these papers, and send them in by owl. It is best if you don't tell the other what you write, but if you'd like to then you should know that there will be no repercussions."

"What will these papers do exactly?" Hermione asked.

"They will decide how long your courtship will be and when your wedding will be. It is one of the things that is causing the most outrage, but as most of the couples brought together by this law don't like each other, it was decided that the ministry will chose these things."

Hermione looked at Severus again, and nodded, because she wouldn't know when they should get married. "That is," the Professor began, "understandable."

"There will be an anti-contraceptive charm placed on you at the wedding, and it is best if the first child is born within the first year of marriage."

"What?" Hermione said, standing up. "That is outrageous. I can accept the fact that this marriage is necessary, but I refuse to be forced to get pregnant until it is a consensual decision between Severus and I."

"Miss Granger, it is-."

"NO!" She said one sound decibel short of a yell. "I will not be treated like some bitch for breeding!" she picked out the packet of papers, and stomped out of the room, after kicking the door open.

_**~Severus P.O.V.~**_

He watched as Hermione Granger stomped away. He turned back to the officiator with a slight smirk on his face. "This just might be more fun than I thought," he said, picking up his own packet of papers, and shaking Harold's hand. "I'll send these in soon," he added, before walking out of the open door, seeing a shocked Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley sitting outside of the room. His smile widened into a grin, wishing that he could see her reaction. It was rumored that she had a temper that could put Voldemort to shame.

**So, what did you think? Where you see the asterisks was where this chapter was originally going to end, and it was supposed to be a cliff hanger, but I couldn't have it be that short.**


	6. Chapter 6

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**P.S. Expect some OOCness in this chapter.**

**P.S.S. Since this chapter is short I decided to give it to you a little early. :)  
**

**And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!**

_**This chapter was beta-d by Aimless Wonder. :) Thank you.**_

_**Deseo del Corazón  
**_

**Chapter Six**

Hermione was still fuming when she appeared back at the Burrow. Entering the house, she slammed the door behind her. The action startling the occupants who were sitting down for supper.

"Hermione?" Molly stood from seat, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong!?" She cried as she jabbed a finger out the window. "Not only are they fucking forcing everybody to get married, but they expect us to just have a child almost instantly. Like I said to that man at the Ministry, I refuse to be treated like some bitch for breeding."

Walking around the table, she moved towards the staircase, leaving a baffled group of people. The exception being the twins, who were laughing quietly to themselves at her outburst until she heard Molly reprimand them. Entering her shared room, Hermione slammed herself down into the chair at Ginny's desk.

Only after several minutes of willing herself to calm down did she remember the envelope in her hands. Ripping it open, she slide the booklet out onto the desk. Discarding the envelope, she opened the booklet and took a look at the guidelines before turning to the next page. She froze as she stared down at the first sentence.

**Describe your ideal wedding.**

For the second time within less than an hour, Hermione found herself shocked, though it quickly turned to thoughtfulness as she regarded the form. How would she describe her ideal wedding? Grabbing a quill from the drawer and opening one of Ginny's ink bottles, she placed the tip on the parchment. After pausing for a second, she started to write.

_- The ceremony would be located in a meadow, the edges, chairs and altar lined with orchids, lilies, lilacs, roses, gardenias and hydrangeas._

_- Chairs would be set in two groups, but with mixed seating._

_- At the end of the aisle, over the altar, there would be a wooden arch woven with flowers and thin fabrics of white cloth._

**What time of year would your ideal wedding occur in?**

_- The middle of spring; past when it's raining all of the time but before it gets too hot during the day._

**How many children do you want?**

She glared at the paper. She wanted children, but she didn't want to be forced to have them.

_- I would like at least two, but less than four. I don't want only one child, because I was quite lonely during my childhood_.

She turned the page.

**What do you want to do with your life?**

_- To get a steady job for about two years, before I get married (thought that's unlikely at this point)._

_- To have enough money saved up for my children, so that I may buy them anything that they could ever want, without spoiling them._

_- I want a marriage that will last! NO MATTER WHAT!_

**How often do you want to have sex?**

"What!?" She yelled. "What does that have to do with the date of our wedding!?"

Hermione grabbed a fresh piece of parchment as she took a glance at the clock.

_Snape,_

_We need to meet. NOW!_

_I will be waiting for you outside the Three Broomsticks at 6 o'clock to discuss this stupid evaluation._

_See you then,_

_Hermione_

Hastily folding the parchment, she grabbed the booklet before stomping down the stairs. Ignoring the cautious the looks she walked straight over to Aphrodite.

"Take this to Professor Snape, please."

The owl seemed to raise an eyebrow at the huffiness of her tone as she grabbed the letter in her talons. She swooped low over the table to grab a biscuit before flying out the window. Hermione turned around and found George grinning at her.

"She's definitely Snape's, alright," he said as he shook his head, "Only he'd be able to teach his owls how to raise an eyebrow like that."

He then proceeded to do an imitation of raising his own eyebrow, causing Fred to burst out laughing.

"You're doing it wrong," said Fred, "You need to keep your face blank and scrunch up your nose, see? And don't forget the sneer. Like this."

This time it was Ron that burst out laughing.

Rolling her eyes at their antics, she walked towards the door

"I'll be back." As an afterthought she turned to the Weasley matriarch. "Sorry for yelling at you earlier, Molly. I didn't mean to. I was just frustrated."

Molly walked over to her and gave her a hug. "It's alright dear. I understand."

Hermione returned the hug, before pulling away and exiting through the door. After she apparated away George immediately turned to his twin.

"Ten galleons says that Snape gets her knocked up before the wedding."

Molly promptly gave him a smack over the head at that comment.

**So, what did you think? Sorry it's short, but I wanted the meeting at the Three Broomsticks to have it's own chapter. When do you guys want the first lemon between our faavorite bushy haired know it all and younger than expected snarky potions professor? How long do you want their engagement to be? Do you want Fred or George to win the bet?**


	7. Chapter 7

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**P.S. After this story is finished, there will be a side piece called Hermione's Fantasies, which will include all of the fantasies and daydreams that she has during this story.**

**P.S.S. For those who want to comment on Sev's change of attitude, remember that the man has de-aged over twenty years, and since Voldemort is gone, he has a new lease on life. Which he might say to our Heroine sometime over the course of the next few chapters.**

**P.S.S.S. Please don't hate me by the end of this chapter.**

**And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**Anon Review Replies (including chapter six's because I accidentally deleted those responses.)  
**

**guest - chapter 5 - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it.  
**

**kimber - chapter 5 - Thanks for the kind words. Sorry that I didn't respond sooner. :)  
**

**Delilah Moon - chapter 5 - Thanks! I'm glad that you liked the potion, and you're very welcome about the compliment on your profile picture. It is going to be a bumpy ride, because both of them are incredibly stubborn.  
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**Kmj - chapter 5 - Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy it. :)  
**

**guest (9/29) - chapter 6 - But which one do you want to win the bet? If one wins she would be preggers before the wedding, and if the other wins she wouldn't be. Thanks for the review!  
**

**mundy - chapter 6 - I hope that you like this chapter. And I haven't decided where I want the first lemon yet, but I'm fairly certain that I won't make her pregnant the whole story. There might be a scare, but I don't really want her to be pregnant. Oh, and I fully intend for our darling 'Mione to have _fun _before she get's pregnant.  
**

**Emma - chapter 6 - Hope this chapter satisfies. Sorry if it doesn't.  
**

**guest (10/1) - chapter 6 - I'm glad that you liked that. I couldn't kill of one of the twins. There's just too much humor between the two of them. The first lemon? It might be soonish, but it might be later. I might have them argue about something, and for one of them to follow the one that stomps off, and there will be a very nice scene where they 'kiss and make-up'. I do plan on her getting a job, in an earlier chapter she mentions applications, so she'll be working by the time that they're married, and don't worry, I won't give them children really fast. There might be a scare, but no baby, at least not until around the end.  
**

**_This chapter was beta-d by Aimless Wonder. Once again, you amaze me. Thank you._  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón  
**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_She stood staring out the window at the countryside. So absorbed in the scenery she didn't hear the footsteps approach, and gave a start when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped their way around her waist. Relaxing, she leaned back into the weight of the man behind her._

_"Darling, are you okay?"_

_Smiling, she turned to wrap her arms around his neck. "I'm fine."_

_"Are you sure? I could give you a massage," he said, running his hands up her sides._

_Releasing her hand, she reached down to run a finger down his chest and fiddled with the buttons on his slacks. In answer he leaned down, pressing a warm kiss to her lips, and she could only close her eyes in contentment as the kiss made her toes curl._

"Miss Granger."

"Yes?" She groaned, her thoughts lingering on the illusion.

"Were you planning to go into the Three Broomsticks any time soon? Or were you merely going to wait outside the entire night?"

"Yes..."

It wasn't until the word was out that reality came screaming back at her. Frowning in confusion, she opened her eyes. Only to find the newly de-aged face of her former Potions Master staring down at her.

Her hands flew to her mouth, "Oh my god! How long have you been standing there?"

"For about five minutes. I called your name seven times."

"I'm so sorry." She said, lowering her hands.

"Do you want to go inside?" He asked again, motioning to the building across the street from the bench she was sitting on.

She shook her head, "No. Since you actually did show up, I want to go to the Hog's Head. Less Rita Skeeter there."

Distaste crossed his face as he stared at the Three Broomsticks.

"In that case, I would agree. Lead the way."

Standing up from the bench, she tucked her hands in her pockets before starting in the direction of the run-down pub.

"Just out of curiosity," Snape said, "What exactly were you thinking about when I found you?"

"Oh." She blushed. "It was nothing, really. You know... just an old fantasy! Hehe... heh."

It was a weak response, and they both knew it.

"That's the second time today that you've drifted off. Though your language was much less offensive this time when coming back to reality."

"You approve?" She asked, amused.

He smirked, "Very. Though you've never daydreamed before. Why now all of a sudden?"

"That's not true. You mostly only saw me during class so you wouldn't have noticed. But I usually daydream whenever I'm not doing anything," she said quietly, "I had little time to myself back at school. What with all the studying and keeping Harry alive. But now that's schools over for me, I've been fantasizing more often than usual."

He hummed in consideration and they continued the trek to the Hog's Head.

"So, you said you wanted to talk about the evaluation?" He asked after a while and Hermione was thankful for the change in subject.

"The first several questions were easy enough," she started, "But then the fifth one struck me as much too forward. So I decided that I would like to talk about the questions as we answer them. That's usually how decisions are made when people are married, right? They talk things, and then decide the best course of action to take."

"I don't disagree," he replied and Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

After that, their walk was quiet, and she took the time to steal glances at him. His looks had really changed, she had passed it off as the weight of Voldemort being gone, but he really did look a lot different; his nose was straighter, hair seemed healthier, and his overall expressions had changed as well.

"Are you going to spend the entire time staring at me?" He asked softly.

She blushed.

"Sorry," she looked up at him, "So, did you answer any of the questions yet?"

He nodded.

"Did you answer the fifth one?"

"Yes."

"... What did you say?"

He sighed, "I said that our sex life was none of their bloody business and that if they tried to force the answer out of me they would regret it."

Hermione blushed again, and reached her hand out to the door of the Hog's Head. However, Snape beat her to it and then proceeded to hold the door open for her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Upon entering she motioned towards the table in a back corner by the fire place, before walking up to the bar.

"Aberforth!" She called, effectively getting the barman's attention.

"Mione, 'ello. What can I get for you?" He asked.

"Two firewhiskeys," She said, glancing back towards the Professor.

Following her glance he nodded, setting two clean glasses on the counter and filled them with a smoking liquid. "The Professor always has firewhiskey when he comes in."

"How much?" She asked, reaching for her beaded bag.

He gave her a look. "You an' the Professor subject to the marriage law?"

"Yes."

"Then this one's on the house, poppet. Congratulations." He said, pushing the glasses toward her.

Picking them up the drinks, Hermione turned around, throwing a 'Thank you' over her shoulder. She sat down at the chair across the small circular table and slid a glass of firewhiskey across it.

"Aberforth seemed to approve of my choice of drink for you," the brunette said, taking a sip that burned all the way down.

He glanced at the bar, before taking a sip. "Yes, you could say that I've been here a lot."

She pulled her booklet, quill, and ink bottle out off her bag as she took another sip. "Me too, especially right after the war. Aberforth was the one that saved us from both Malfoy Manor and also when the cauterwaller charm went off when we apparated here. I usually come to talk to him and try to learn more about Dumbledore. But most of the time it usually ends with me asking for a drink."

Opening the form to the correct page, she just drew a large X over the fifth question. Taking another sip of her beverage, she looked up at him. "Sir, I've got a question."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought that we'd established that you don't need to call me sir or professor any more."

"Then do you have any nicknames?" She asked, leaning forward.

"Besides Greasy-haired-dungeon-bat?"

"Yes, that's not something that really demonstrates affection."

"Li-," he paused for a moment, "An old friend of mine called me Sev. There was also Snivellus, Scrawny Git, and when I was younger, Toby."

Hermione thought over her options. Most likely, Sev was what Lily had called him. She didn't want to bring up old memories. "Severus it is, then."

"What was your question? I assume that it wasn't about my having nicknames." He said, smirking slightly.

"I was just wondering if it was the de-aging that made you change so much." She asked, forcing herself not to reach across the table and put her hand on his.

He looked down at his hands, opening and closing them a few times. "Yes, it was. I was always so angry, or irritated, and under the control of either Riddle or Dumbledore, and wasn't really able to live. Since I lost Lily, any chance I had at romance was thrashed. I wasn't expecting to be subject to this marriage law. I honestly wasn't. But that potion was my new lease on life. I don't have to pretend to hate the world for fear of Riddle finding out. From now on, I don't have to be anybody- spy or teacher- for anyone other then myself."

"I'm glad that you don't have to hide anymore."

She was fighting against herself, her hands were twitching. Unfortunately he noticed and he gazed across at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching across the table and grasping her hands in his own. "Your hands are freezing!"

"I'm fine." She muttered, and as an afterthought said, "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked, equally quiet.

"My hands were freezing." Hermione looked up, and her hazel eyes locked onto pure onyx. Before she could say anything else, they were interrupted.

"Hermione!" Harry called from the doorway, walking over to the table and sitting down next to the two of them. "Hey, Sev."

Severus glared at him, and pulled his hands away. "Potter."

Harry raised an eyebrow and was about to respond when Hermione asked, "Harry, why are you here?"

"Ginny's spending the night in a holding cell at the ministry for trying to attack the counsellor, and after I realized why you were angry, I knew where you would be."

Severus took a drink.

"That or you realized she wasn't at the Burrow." He muttered into his now empty glass. Harry grinned.

"That too. So, may I join the two of you?" He asked, slapping down his own envelope.

Snape stood up and walked towards the bar, "I've got to get another drink."

"I see the old man hasn't warmed up to me any." Harry said with a smile, eyes following after said man.

Hermione raised a brow, "He's not an old man anymore, Harry."

"I know. I hunted him down after the battle so that I could thank him for all that he's done for me. For my mum."

"What?" She asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I asked him not too."

Hermione looked up stunned at Severus as he set down three full glasses of firewhiskey on the table.

"Why?"

"Would it have changed anything if you had known?" He asked softly.

_A hand caressed her cheek, as the other slid down her body, pulling her closer. Lips pressed against hers and her arms wrapped around his neck._

Forcing herself out of her daydream, she whispered, "I don't know."

She downed her drink and nodded towards Harry's packet. "How far did you get on the evaluation?"

"Question five. How often do you want to have sex." His cheeks blossomed with color. "I kind of skipped that one."

She grinned, "I crossed it out."

Picking up her booklet, she looked at the next question. "Question six. Where would your dream honeymoon be?"

"I think this book is more geared towards women." Harry said, grinning with the alcohol. "I'm getting another drink."

Hermione tapped her quill on her chin, running the tip of the feather across her lips.

"Honeymoon." She whispered.

_She was blindfolded._

_"Where are we going?" She asked, smiling because she was married now._

_"It's a surprise." A warm voice whispered behind her._

She dipped her quill in the ink, and started writing. She looked up and smiled when another glass was set down in front of her. "Sir, are you trying to win me over with drinks of alcohol."

"No fair lady, you are engaged, as am I to be married. Therefore we must end our passionate affair."

Summoning fake tears, Hermione straight away turned to Severus. And in a brave move- that would no doubt be blamed on the alcohol- she grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart.

"Oh, sir knight! I beg of you! Take me away from this deplorable man who has scorned me with his rejection."

He pulled his hand away slowly, and instead, looked down at the papers in front of him. "Question Seven. Will your parents play an active part in your children's life."

"Well, I know the answer for that question," Harry muttered bitterly, crossing the question out, "My parents are dead."

"That doesn't mean that your children can't get to know their grandparents," said Severus, "There's so much that you can tell them. The kind of people they were. How much they would have loved to meet their grandchildren."

He looked down, "Tell them how special your mother was. How brave she and James were that they'd die protecting you."

"And what will you tell your children?" Harry asked him. "That sometimes, even if you love someone, you can do something bad to them? That their grandfather was very sick when he hurt your mother."

Hermione looked between the two dark haired men seated around the small circular table. She had not known that about Severus' past.

"My father was not sick," answered Severus, "He was a drunk that savagely beat my mother to death. At least he was smart enough to do it when I was at school, and not when I was there to kill him myself."

He put his arms on the table and lay his head on them. A rare show of defeat. "I was going to go home that break, but decided not to at the last minute. If I'd gone home, I could've saved her. I could have stopped that bastard from hurting her."

"Or you could have gotten killed as well," Hermione replied.

"What the bloody hell do you know?" He asked, looking up angrily. "Your parents are both still alive."

Hermione drank the rest of her cup and shoved the evaluation and ink bottle into her beaded bag. She finished the rest of Harry's cup as well before turning towards Severus and stabbing him in the chest with her finger.

"Yes, you slimy son of a bitch! My adoptive parents are still alive. But until the age of eight, I was Hermione Smith. I had no parents living in an orphanage. Mum and dad were the first people who had ever wanted to be my parents. And I worked so hard in my studies because I wanted to make them proud. Your biological parents may be dead, but at least you can take comfort in the fact that they wanted you, whereas mine never did. For all I know, I could be the daughter of some pureblood arsehole that impregnated some random whore. So until you know what the fuck you are talking about keep your god damned mouth closed."

With that said Hermione stood and stormed her way out of the pub. The door hadn't even shut behind when she spun on the spot, apparating away.

**~ Severus's P.O.V. ~**

Having watched her storm away, Severus slumped down in his chair and rubbed at his face, before turning to look at Harry who looked as shocked as he felt.

"Do you have any reason to believe that she is lying?" He asked solemnly.

Green eyes locked onto his own obsidian orbs. "I guess you haven't known her long enough to know this, but Hermione doesn't lie. All that I do know is that the two times I went to her house, I never saw a baby picture."

Harry's eyes moved across the room and he froze, before leaping after something. Severus turned around in time to see Harry grab a beetle out of the air by its wing.

"Abe, I need a jar!"

Aberforth turned to him. "Is it Skeeter again Harry?"

Harry nodded and Aberforth turned around and grabbed a jar off the shelf behind him; the jar already held a stick and a few leaves. He threw it towards Harry who, with the unerring skills of a seeker, snatched it out of the air.

He put the beetle in the jar and shut the lid, before sitting it down on the table. "Abe, can we just have a bottle? We're going to need it."

He eyed them with his icy blue eyes and nodded, tossing the bottle after him, "Catch."

Uncorking it, Harry poured the firewhiskey into Severus's glass until it reached the rim. He then sat down in front of the stunned Potioneer and filled his own glass. Taking a large sip, he pushed the jar towards the frozen man.

"Severus Snape, meet Rita Skeeter."

Severus sat stunned for a moment, looking between Harry and the jar.

"Rita Skeeter, you say?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and achieving a deviant look on his face.

If anything, the beetle seemed to flutter nervously inside the jar.

**So, what did you think?**


	8. Chapter 8

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**Anon Review Replies**

**Guest (10-2) - 4?**

**kimber - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it.**

**lovealan - Hope this was updated soon enough! I'm glad that you like it, and I don't know when I'll reveal her real parents, if I do at all.**

**mundy - Thank you! and I'm glad that you liked it! Thanks and thanks! I think that the part about her parents was partially inspired by the movie Letters to Juliet. Because whats his face was being all GRRR.. and then the older lady was all like, Her mother ran out on her. Atleast you knew your parents loved you. I wasn't trying to down play Sev's grief at all, but I wanted him to know Hermione had known grief as well. But Idk if it worked.**

**_This chapter was beta-d by Aimless Wonder! Thank you again Aimless, you still amaze me!_  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

Hermione leaned against the wall outside the Auror's department, awaiting Ginny's arrival. When the redhead finally stepped through the door, Hermione looped arms with her. "So, I hear that you handled the 'children within a year' news better than I did."

Ginny glared at her mockingly, but it quickly slipped into smile. "I suppose trying to attack someone is a bit worse than just stomping out of the room."

"Now Ginny, I know they didn't mistreat you, what with you being the Chosen One's fiancé and all, but we're going out for breakfast. Then we're going to round up some of the girls, then we're going out tonight."

"Oh thank Merlin!" Ginny yelled, wrapping her arm around Hermione's waist as they kept walking towards the apparition point.

"Will my man candy be at breakfast this morning?" She asked.

"No. I actually wanted to talk to you about something, without Harry being around. Though technically he knows now, but I wanted to tell you."

Ginny's head whipped towards her so fast that Hermione was sure she had just given herself whiplash. "You're not pregnant are you?"

She was unable to stop the laugh that escaped her.

"Of course I'm not pregnant." She slapped Ginny's shoulder lightly, "I just wanted to speak to you in private."

"Is this going be something like fifth year?" asked Ginny, her tone teasing, "When you told me all about your daydreams."

"As if haven't I learned my lesson. Merlin, you teased me for months after that."She replied, a light blush dancing on her cheeks. "Though Severus did catch me twice in one day while I was in la la land."

Reaching the apparition point, Hermione grabbed the younger woman's wrist and spun them away from the ministry. They landed in an alley in muggle London, and Hermione led them towards a small restaurant.

"You're calling him Severus now!" Ginny gasped from beside her. "What happened!?"

"Not out here," she said, looking around at the crowded street. Surprising, considering the early hour.

"Oh, I completely understand," Ginny said seriously, "Wouldn't want anybody to know about the Golden Girl's naughty fantasies."

Hermione glared as they entered the restaurant and waited to be shown to a table. "Please don't start that again."

"I promise nothing," she whispered, the grin still on her face as the waitress walked up and took them to a table.

"What would you like to drink?" She asked when they were seated.

Hermione smiled at her, "I'd like a coca-cola, light ice."

Ginny smiled up at her.

"Do you have sweet tea?" She asked and the waitress nodded, "I'll have that then. No lemon."

Once she was gone Ginny turned to Hermione. "So? Tell me what happened."

Hermione rolled her eyes before recounting what had happened the day before in the Ministry; about how Severus had caught her daydreaming and his comment about her 'atrocious language'.

"And the second time?" Ginny asked, just as the waitress came back with their drinks.

They both ordered chicken strips and French fries, and Hermione started speaking again. "Well, I was angry with the questionnaire."

Ginny raised a brow at her, "Who wasn't?"

"So I sent him a letter," she continued, "Telling him to meet me outside the Three Broomsticks. I was sitting on that bench across from it when it happened. He caught me right in the middle of my daydream, Gin. I was fantasising about him kissing me, so when he called me I didn't even think. I just groaned out 'yes'. It took me a while to realise that he was actually standing right there."

Ginny was grinning at her. "Do you think he heard anything else?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. And all I really said after that was 'Hello' and 'I'm fine'."

"And how are you feeling about this whole thing?" Ginny asked, her voice serious.

The elder girl looked at her hands. "I don't know. I mean, obviously I'm angry at the fact that we're being forced into this. But at the same time I doubt I would have had this chance at him without it. I used to crush after him so bad, and of course I couldn't do anything about it, what with him being a professor, and I his student. But that didn't stop the fantasies. Gods, knowing that it was wrong just fuelled them more often than not. After fifth year, I don't think there was more than a class or two where I didn't leave with my panties wet." Hermione's voice got quieter towards the end of her monologue. She wasn't embarrassed, because she'd already confided this in Ginny years ago.

Ginny reached across the table and place her hand on the brunettes. "It'll be okay Hermione. If you'd like I could get Harry to try and do some recon."

Hermione looked up at the younger girl, and snorted. "Gin, I doubt that he's going to say anything. Severus isn't exactly known for his willingness to share his feelings."

"Do you want me to get Harry to try though? I can ask in a way that he won't know what's going on."

Hermione smiled at her, as the waitress set down their plates.

"Can I get you girls anything else?"

"No thank you," Hermione said, and when the waitress walked away asked Ginny, "What do you think about this whole situation?"

Ginny swallowed the bite of chicken and answered. "I think that anything to make Harry get off of his arse and ask me to marry him is a godsend in disguise, but at the same time I know that there are a lot of couples out there now who will be objective to it."

Hermione prepared herself for what she was about to say to her best friend. "Ginny... there's something else I wanted to tell you."

At her tone, Ginny looked up at her from her chicken.

"Okay. What is it?"

"I'm adopted."

Ginny's eyes widened momentarily before she blinked. "Oh..."

Deciding to take that as her cue, Hermione continued. "I spent nearly half of my life living in a muggle orphanage. St. Clarice's Home for Girls. It wasn't until I turned eight that mum and dad adopted me. Before that... I was Hermione Smith."

Ginny's face was contorted with concern.

"I know absolutely nothing about my birth parents, which makes people calling me a mudblood that much worse. They could be and probably are wrong. 'Cause for all I know my birth parents could be high up in the pure-blood society, and they just didn't want me."

Ginny moved around the table to wrap her arms around her. "What made you decide to tell me now?"

"It was last night at the pub," she said, starting to cry, "We were looking over the evaluation; the question about if your parents would have an active roll in your children's lives, and it was kind of a breaking point for the three of us. Severus' childhood wasn't all that bright, so I tried to comfort him. But he blew up at me. Since my parents are still alive he assumed that I wouldn't understand how he felt."

Her shoulders shook and she leaned into Ginny's embrace.

"But I don't know if my birth parents are alive or not, and even if they are they didn't want me. Ron didn't want me and Severus sure as hell doesn't."

"Hermione Jean Granger, that is not true! You are not in the least bit unwanted. Harry wants you and would be dead many times over if it weren't for you. You're my best friend, and I want you. As for Ron," Ginny shrugged, "You know that he's about as dense a ton of bricks. And if Severus Snape can't take the time to see what a good person you are then he doesn't deserve you."

"It doesn't matter if he deserves me or not Ginny." Hermione leaned back and wiped his eyes. "Because of this law, we're getting married whether we want to or not."

"I think that's enough heavy talk for today," Ginny said, raising her hand to call for the check, "Once we get the girls together, we're going clubbing. There's a great one on Diagon Alley that we can go to."

Paying the waitress, they grabbed their food in the little to go boxes and walked off towards the alley arm in arm.

"Are any of the boys going to be invited?" Hermione asked.

"Do you want them to be?" Ginny asked, before they spun on the spot and appeared outside of Luna's house.

"Might as well, though I doubt that he will come. Which is probably good thing, 'cause I have no intention of dealing with any drama tonight. I just want to dance."

Ginny grinned, knocking on the door of the tower. "Then we probably shouldn't invite Harry either. You know how protective he gets."

Hermione giggled, just as Luna opened the door. "Luna, we were wondering if you wanted to go clubbing with us tonight? We're going to meet at the Burrow at two to start getting ready."

In her voice that seemed too soft Luna asked, "can I invite Neville?"

"Sure, the men are welcome."

Luna fingered the necklace she was wearing. "Neville gave me this. It's a gozzleberry and is known to attract Wrackspurts. Do you like it?"

Hermione smiled. "It's very lovely Luna."

"What did Harry and Snape get for you two?" She asked.

Ginny pulled her own necklace out from under the collar of her shirt. "Harry gave me this. It was his grandmother's."

"It's beautiful," the blonde commented before turning to Hermione, "and you Hermione?"

"He gave me an owl and something else." Hermione looked over her shoulder as if expecting somebody to be there. "Could the two of you round up the other girls? I've got an angry letter to send."

Receiving nods, Hermione apparated away to the Burrow.

The house was still silent when she entered and Hermione was glad that they slept in more often on the weekends now. Walking up the stairs she entered Ginny's room and went over to the desk. Pulling over some parchment, a quill, and some ink, she started to write.

_Severus,_

_First of all, I would like to thank you for the gifts, since I didn't before. Aphrodite is a beautiful owl, and I was also very touched that you would trust me with your mother's music box. I promise to take good care it. And also thank you for the supplies that you sent for Aphrodite._

_Second, HOW DARE YOU! I am still outraged at what you said last night, though I guess that I cannot put too much blame upon you, since absolutely nobody in the wizarding world knew about it. But still to practically accuse me of not knowing what grief is, is completely outrageous, and you should expect a bit of a row the next time we meet._

_Thirdly, the girls and I are going out tonight, and we've agreed to invite the men as well. We're meeting at the Burrow for supper which will be about six, and then we'll be leaving._

_I don't know if I'll see you there or not, but just know that you're invited._

_Hermione_

_P.S. You were a bloody prat._

Sealing the letter into an envelope, Hermione smiled softly to herself as she exited the room. Reaching the ground floor she walked to perch which held Aphrodite.

"Will you take this to Severus?"

The owl held out her leg, and after the letter was attached, hopped onto Hermione's shoulder and rubbed her cheek against hers before flying out the window. Wondering where Ginny was, she was in the process of glancing at her watch when the front door suddenly flew open.

"We're here!" Ginny called as she walked into the house, followed closely by a large crowd of girls. Most of which were from the same years as Ginny and her at Hogwarts.

"Hello, Hermione!" Chorused the group as they all bustled into Weasley's living room.

Hermione looked at them amazed, before zeroing in on Ginny. "How in the bloody hell are we all supposed to fit in your room to get ready?"

"Undetectable extension charm," said Ginny as she took the lead up the staircase, "You've done it before. I've seen the inside of your handbag."

As they came to a stop at the door to room, Hermione nodded before taking out her wand. "Wait a moment."

Waving it, she recited the incantation and waited for the spell to take affect; there was the sound of wood creaking and soft rumble. When it stopped she grabbed the handle of the door pushed it open. Beside her, Ginny let out a whistle of appreciation as she took in the sight of the resized room.

"Wow," one of the girls gasped from behind her.

"Right. Now that that's taken care of," called out Lavender, "let's get ready girls!"

**~ Severus P.O.V. ~**

Severus wasn't sure why, but when he had received the letter from Miss... Hermione, he had felt the need to do as she had asked. Which was why he was currently seated at the enlarged table in the Weasley dining space. Now however, he had almost wished he hadn't come, and for the seventh time since arriving, he groaned and rubbed his hands on his face.

"You know," Harry clapped him on his shoulder, "Spending a night out with people your own age won't kill you."

"No but the bloody witch that I yelled at yesterday might!" He muttered, just as another chorus of squeals and laughter sounded from the room above them. Harry smiled knowingly at him.

"You'll get used to the threats after a while." He said.

Unable to sit any longer Severus stood and made his way over to Molly; she looking into a gigantic pot as she stirred its contents. "Mrs. Weasley, are you sure that you don't need any help? While I'm not very adept at cooking I could still-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Severus," said Molly as she turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's nice of you to offer, but no. I've been doing this for many years now. I can handle supper just fine. You just concentrate on making our Hermione happy."

She gave him a light slap on his shoulder before releasing him.

"But-"

"Dear, I'm happy for you. I know that your time in the order wasn't easy, and your time with Voldemort even less so, but I just want you to know that I'm glad that you've found somebody that will make you happy. You two will do good together, you're both very smart, and incredibly brave. Throw in how stubborn the two of you are, and we've got a perfect match. You'll definitely keep each other on your toes." The elder woman said kindly, patting his face.

Music started pounding above them as the girls sang out _'All she wants to do is dance dance.'_

Severus was about to rub his face again when Aphrodite flew over and landed on his shoulder. He reached up and stroked her back, between her wings.

"Hey, girl." He said softly as she rubbed her head up against his and hooted softly.

"So why did you send Hermione a bloody bird?"

Snape turned to glare at Ron so fast that his neck popped, and the people surrounding Ron started laughing.

"Yep, she definitely came from Snape, alright!" George said loudly.

Glancing at the owl, Severus couldn't help but smirk; she was also glaring at the youngest male Weasley.

"In case your brain cells have disintegrated in the last week I will remind you that we are all marrying somebody else. Excuse me if I would like to be able to speak to the woman who will become my wife," he sneered, "And not that it would be any of your business, but Aphrodite was only a partial gift. I also sent a jewellery box that has been in my family for generations and has been passed down from mother to daughter. Since I do not have any sisters, my mother decided that to would be given to my future wife upon our betrothal."

"The music box is charmed to will play the song that the couple danced to at their wedding. And until Hermione and I get married it will play the song that my parents danced to at their wedding." He swallowed a lump in his throat, as Aphrodite soared off of his shoulder, "And when we decide to have children, it will be passed to our daughter playing our song until she gets married."

"Awwww!"

The resounding chorus caused him to jump slightly and Severus immediately turned around, only to meet the brown eyes of his intended; the girls had finally come down from their room and were all standing in the living room watching the scene. Hermione was standing at the head of the group.

Seeing the small twitch in her lips, Severus wondered what she was thinking right at that moment.

"I hadn't realised that it was that old," she said softly.

"I didn't think that it would matter," he replied.

As she came towards him she raised her hand and he immediately took it in his. She smiled at him. "Thank you, again, for trusting me with something as special as this."

And with all the Gryffindor he could muster, Severus dipped his head forward and brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss across her knuckles. "Only for you my lady."

He was more than satisfied when Hermione's cheeks burst aflame at his action.

"Dinner is served," Molly choked and with a wave of her wand, dishes settled themselves onto the table.

As Hermione took her seat across from him, she sent him a warm smile.

And it was one that he could not help but return.

**So, what did you think? I was going to put the dancing part in here too, but the chapter was getting a bit long, so I figured I can just put that in the next chapter, a long with something that was inspired by MMWillow13.**


	9. Chapter 9

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**P.S. Starting this out with a bit of Snape**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**Anon Review Replies  
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**mundy - Thanks for the review! I'm glad that you liked it. Hermione wasn't angry about the parents thing, she was angry at the accusation that she didn't know how grief felt like for one that had lost their parents. While I wasn't meaning to downplay his grief of having his mom murdered, I also don't want to downplay the grief of feeling like you were unwanted. One of my least favorite sayings is, "How would you know?" or better yet, "You don't know how I feel." Her letter is quite childish, but hey even the Gryffindor Golden Girl has to let her hair down and not over think everything every now and then. Thanks again, Anje  
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**kimber - Thank you for your review! I'm glad that you liked it. I hope that this was soon enough. :) Anje  
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**Prince-Slytherin - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it! I love you're name. When I typed it into doc manager to reply to your review, it wanted to change it to Prince-Slithery. I thought it was slightly amusing. Thanks again, Anje  
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**Jo - Thank you! I'm gad that you liked it. And it's fine, I had this friend who was a real jerk, flirting with me all the time when he had a long-distance girlfriend. I'd tell him I loved him all of the time, because he didn't want anybody to know he had a girlfriend, just to bug him. I don't know what that had to do with anything... thanks again! Anje  
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******Lindsay - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it! Anje**  


**_This chapter was beta-d by the awesome Aimless Wonder. Thank you, as always._  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón**_

**Chapter Nine**

_**~ Severus P.O.V. ~**_

She was watching him.

The first few times it had happened, Severus had brushed them off as casual glances. However, after the fifth time around when he looked up, he caught her brown eyes quickly shifting down to her food.

Looking down at his own food, he made sure that she was staring at him before he quickly looked up again, locking their gazes together.

"Hermione?" He murmured, noticing the far off look in her eyes.

When she didn't immediately respond, he discreetly reached out with his magic; despite his curiosity, the last thing he wanted was to use Legimency on her.

The effect was immediate. No sooner before his magic had touched her, his mind was immediately overflown with the images of her thoughts.

_He hovered above her, their lips only a breath away before he lowered his head down for a kiss. As their lips met he gave another thrust._

_"Ssseverus."_

_His name fell from her lips like a whimpered plea as she simultaneously raised her hips to meet his. Her hands clawing desperately at his back._

He tried yanking his mind away, but was unsuccessful as the images shifted.

_They were running towards a lake, or rather he was running and she was being carried._

_"Severus!" She squealed, "Put me down!"_

_"Okay," he laughed, tossing her into the water. Only to shout in surprise when a hand wrapped around his ankle and yanked him in. Her melodic laughter was the first thing he heard when he surfaced._

_"Got you!" She said happily, before she leaned in and stole a kiss._

"Hermione..." He groaned, voice sounding like gravel.

"Hermione!" Called out Harry's voice. "Severus."

Startled by the voice beside him, Severus quickly shook his head to clear his mind before turning to the Saviour of the Wizarding World. Choosing to ignore the snickering of those around him. "What happened?"

"You tell me," said Harry, lips twitching slightly, as if to hide a smile. "You two zoned out for a second there. I was beginning to worry."

There was clear amusement in his eyes as he said this. Choosing not to answer, lest he embarrass himself further, he instead looked across the table. A pair of fiery brown eyes stared back at him and immediately, whatever doubts he had had that she had been fantasizing about him flew out of his mind when he saw the passion and lust held inside them.

_**~ Hermione P.O.V. ~**_

_She reached over and yanked on his ankle, pulling him into the water. She was laughing just as hard as he was when he surfaced._

_"Got you!" She said, before leaning in to steal a kiss._

"Hermione..."

The way he said her name made another round of blood rush up to her cheeks.

"Hermione! Severus," she heard Harry call out.

Hermione saw Severus shake his head, as if clearing his thoughts.

"What happened?" He asked Harry.

"You tell me," he replied, "You two zoned out for a second there. I was beginning to worry."

'What was that... just now. It felt like... magic... Did he see what I was thinking?'

Looking up, she stifled a gasp when she met his gaze, seeing the wide range of emotions surfacing in the black eyes.

Lust. Want. Need. Passion...** Hunger**.

In an attempt to save face, she immediately spooned some mashed potatoes and brought it to her lips. She couldn't help grinning when his eyes immediately fell to her mouth, before looking towards Harry. "What are you talking bout?"

Harry raised a brow at her. "I'm talking about the look you just had on your face. The same one that you usually slip into when you thought nobody was watching in Gryffindor tower- or anywhere in Hogwarts, really. I'm talking about that look."

Frowning slightly she turned to Ginny. The redhead made a show of not knowing what her fiancé by shrugging her shoulder, but her eyes told a different story. Focusing back on her Harry, she then gave him a look that appeared both genuinely confused and purely innocent. "I've never done that."

"Hermione," he said cautiously as she stared at him, "I don't know what it is that you're trying to do, but I'm not going to fall for it."

Severus looked between the two of them.

"Do I even want to know what the two of you are talking about?" he asked in a voice that made Hermione want to melt. It was both that, combined with the fact that she was desperate for a change of subject, that she immediately asked the first thing that was on her mind.

"How do you get your voice to sound so silky?"

There was a dramatic paused as everyone stared at her, and Hermione felt her cheeks flame up again. "That was supposed to be an inner thought."

"I..." Severus scratched his head. "I have no idea how to answer that question."

There was a snort from down the table.

"It either just sounds like that or you're probably hallucinating," he finished, but quickly back tracked when she narrowed her eyes at him, "Never mind that hallucinating part, I guess that my voice just sounds that way."

Avoiding her gaze, he then looked down the line of girls on the opposite side of the table. Some of whom were nodding their heads at him, as if in approval.

"Ooooooh," Ginny whispered from beside her, chuckling softly, "Nice save."

Smiling at her comment, Hermione cleared her throat, and when he looked at her again she rolled her eyes at him before returning to eating off of her lightly covered plate. She didn't want to over eat, because the last time she'd gone out with Ginny her stomach had felt like it had been about to burst.

When everybody had finished eating and the dishes had been cleared, they started to move into the living room. When everybody had gathered Ginny said loudly, "Okay. Here's how we're doing this. I've already reserved us a space at the club so as soon as the men apparate us there we can go and leave our bags. There's really only one rule tonight, which the you men may or may not choose to follow, and that's that none of us girls go anywhere alone!"

Everyone nodded though Ron shot his sister a weird look. "So what? I'm just supposed to walk up to somebody in our group and say 'Hey I need the loo?"

Hermione laughed.

"Seriously, Ronald?" She rubbed her face in a fashion similar to the one Snape had before she and the girls had come downstairs. "The rule applies mostly to the ladies. The last thing any of us want is to be corned by some perv who probably thinks that his going to get lucky. It at least keeps us safe."

Ron seemed to understand, and looked towards Lavender.

"Oh. That's good!" he said, sharing a warm smile with his girlfriend.

Ginny grinned at Hermione and raised her fist in the air.

"Now, we leave." She said loudly.

Everybody walked outside, and throughout the yard men were wrapping their arms around their women. Smiling at them, she suddenly gasped when a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist. Turning around, she found herself slowly being ensnared by Severus' onyx eyes.

"Oh."

He raised an eyebrow, "Were you expecting someone else?"

Eyes burning sightly, she brought her arms up and around his neck. "Absolutely not."

Severus Snape smiled and spinning on the spot, apparated them outside of Club Shazamapop.

Looking up at the sign he grinned at the brunette in his arms and murmured, "Sounds like something Albus would have come up with."

"Shaz-uh-muh-pop?" she said slowly, making sure to get the pronunciation right. "You're right It does sound like something he would choose."

They chuckled softly as they looked back at each other.

"Are you two love-birds coming or not?" Ginny called.

Sighing, Hermione grabbed Severus's hand and pulled him towards the door, glaring at Ginny as she did so.

"Like you can complain," she whispered when she reached her, "How many times a day does somebody have to pull you out of the 'Emerald Dreampools'?"

She felt Snape tense slightly, but Ginny smacked her arm and said buoyantly, "Well you seem to be awfully calm after getting caught in your naughty fantasies by the man who's been starring in them since fourth year."

Hermione turned red.

"You promised not to mention that again!" She hissed before stomping ahead, and dragging a stunned potion master behind her. When she got to the front of the line, despite the protests, she just looked at the bouncer and raised her eyebrow.

"Do you know who I am?" When all he did was cross his arms and shake his head, she sighed. "Hermione Granger. My friends and I already reserved two tables inside."

The rest of the group walked up behind her, and Harry stepped forward with Ginny, holding out his wand. "I confirm this. We came here earlier and reserved them under my wand signature."

The man took a second to look from Harry's famously green eyes up to his lightning bolt scar before he moved the rope away, waving his wand at the metal grate that covered the door. "Go on in."

As Harry started to walk past him, the man held out his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. You saved us all."

"Not everybody," he corrected, swallowing the lump in his throat as he shook the offered hand, "I was too late for that."

The line that was muttering angrily only moments before had gone completely silent as the man responded. "It was war, Mr. Potter. People die, and not everyone can be saved. We'll remember the innocents, as well as those who died fighting while trying to the world. As for those on the dark side, they will be forgotten-"

"And that is where you're wrong." Harry stood up straight. "You said it yourself. People die. Families were murdered. And no one's ever going to forget the Death Eaters who were responsible. And as for those who opposed him, some of them were his immediate followers. Voldemort-"

Several people winced.

"-would probably still be alive if the wife of one of his most trusted servants hadn't have defected and covered for me. All because she cared more for her son's life than the screwed up ambitions of a complete and utter hypocritical psycho. So don't judge somebody by a mark that they have on their skin because you never know what brought them to take that mark. The names-"

"Harry," Hermione cut in, "Let's just go inside... please."

He turned to her, conveying some of the pain he felt in that lasting glance.

"Sorry... you're right, let's go," he said finally, turning towards the building and without another word walked in.

As they entered, Hermione looked after her friend worryingly until she saw Ginny talking to him quietly. She didn't object when Snape wrapped his arm around her waist again, giving a light squeeze as they pushed through the doors. She leaned into the embrace as they walked over to the tables.

Ginny raised a hand, and snapped her fingers twice, smiling when a drooling waiter came over to them almost instantly. "How can I help you miss?"

She grinned, "I want two kamikaze tube shots each for the women, and a glass of firewhiskey for the men."

He nodded, walking away get her order and Ginny motioned for everybody to sit down. "Traditionally, we women get the first dance to ourselves. After that, you men are welcome to join us."

Hermione grinned.

"By the way," Severus whispered in her ear, bringing out a shiver, "You look amazing tonight."

She looked up, feeling drawn towards him. She was about to lean in when the waiter returned. "I've got twelve tube shots, and six glasses of firewhiskey."

Ginny grinned and held out her hand, and took the little booklet from his hand. "I've got the bill."

Hermione turned to her. "Ginny, it's my turn."

Ginny shot her a look. "I outed you on the fact that you've been fantasizing about Severus since your fourth year to everyone."

Hermione glared, took her two shots, and exited to the dance floor. "Actually no, you didn't. The only one you had outed me to was Severus, until you said that."

_**~ Severus P.O.V. ~**_

He watched as Hermione smiled at Miss Weasley's comment about the women having the first dance together. Deciding to take the opportunity, before she left for the dance floor, Severus leaned forward.

"By the way," he grinned as he felt her shiver, "You look amazing tonight."

Before he could say anything further the waiter was already back with their drinks. "I've got twelve tube shots, and six glasses of firewhiskey."

Severus opted to take the bill, for while he wasn't necessarily around friends, they had invited him to this night out. The polite thing to do would be to take the bill. Just as he opened my mouth to speak Ms. Weas- Ginny held her hand out and took the book from the waiter, signing her name, and writing what he was assuming was the account number of Mr. Potters account.

"I've got the bill." She said, far too enthusiastic.

Hermione looked at her oddly. "Ginny, it's my turn."

When the red head shot Hermione a look Severus tensed slightly, almost knowing what was about to come after the comment the younger lady had made outside. "I outed you on the fact that you've been fantasizing about Professor Snape since fourth year to everyone."

Hermione glared at her, and stood up, taking to of the shots off of the tray and downing them. "No. Actually the only one that you outed me to was Severus, until you said that."

And watched as, once again, his future wife stalked off and entered the crowd.

He looked up at Ginny, "You're being serious about that?"

Ginny nodded.

"I didn't mean to say that in front of everybody. Come on girls, take your shots," she said taking the tray from the man and setting it down on the table. The girls quickly took their shots and walked off through the crowd, and after a minute or so of them being out of sight, the crowd shifted slightly and Severus saw Hermione and Ginny hugging.

Severus turned to the others, "How long do we wait?"

Harry smiled. "It depends. They say the first dance, but they really mean we stay here until men start harassing them."

Sighing, he turned back to his drink and took a large sip. So he wasn't expecting Hermione to show up at his arm. She also looked nervous.

"Do you want to dance?" She asked softly. His shock must have showed on his face because she quickly continued. "Sorry, I know that you probably don't want to, but I figured that since we don't know each other all that well that it would be-"

He reached out and put his finger under her chin and lifted her face up to look at him.

"Yes." He told her.

She smiled at him, "Really?"

"Of course not, I just said that mess with your head."

Waiting for the fire to enter her eyes, Severus grinned when he finally saw it.

"Of course I'll dance with you." Her eyes narrowed. "Honestly Hermione, I was joking."

When she only crossed her arms, he decided to step back, holding his arm out as he bowed. "My lady, would you honour me with the next dance?"

She stared at him for a few minutes, lips pursed, before giving a huff. A grin spreading across her face. Bringing her hands down, she grabbed at imaginary skirts before sinking into a low curtsy. And in the process, unintentionally giving him a sight of her supple cleavage. Raising from her curtsy she placed her hand in his and used the other to wave an imaginary fan at her face.

"I would be my pleasure, Sir knight."

The two walked out to a some what secluded corner of the dance floor, and wrapping his arms around her Severus spun them around in a circle. When she looked up at him he noticed how accented her eyes were, no doubt thanks to the light make up on her face.

She leaned closer to him, and whispered so her warm breath danced across his cheek. "Do you ball room dance, Severus?"

Severus smiled and arched an eyebrow at her. "Do you?"

She nodded. "After I was adopted my father took me to lessons as a way to bond."

"Waltz?" He asked, moving his arms and shifting into the right position, before starting to take the steps with her.

"Of course," she said, gripping his hand tighter as they turned.

"Tango?"

Shifting their positions again, they started to move in a more sensual manner. In answer to his question, she smirked.

And when he lifted her, she raised her jean clad leg above their heads.

"Must you really ask?"

_***Harry's P.O.V.***_

Harry was watching for another opening in the crowd to allow him to see Ginny when she shoved through it towards him, even as they pressed back seemingly creating a circle around something in the middle of the dance floor.

"Harry, you have to see this, it's amazing!" She cried, grabbing Harry's hand and dragging him towards the dance floor. "You other guys come watch too!"

They came to rest on the edge of the circle and Harry, Ron, George, Fred, and Neville all felt stunned. The couple currently in the middle of the circle were none other than Hermione and Severus.

The pair stopped moving and Severus spun Hermione until her back was to him. He raised her arm up and lay it on his shoulder, running his own hand down the side of her torso before he spun her out. As they moved past him Harry heard Sev say 'mambo', to which Hermione replied with 'of course'.

It seemed that the D.J. had gotten drift of what was happening since he kept changing the song as they changed the dance. Harry could only watch, fascinated as they suddenly separated on the dance floor. Only for Hermione to quickly run towards him, her arms spread out fully as he caught her and lifted her body up into the air. As he lowered her, she slowly slid down his body, her hand coming down to cradle the side of his face just as her feet touched the ground.

Both were breathing hard and Hermione, finally looking around her, blushed when she saw the attention they were getting. She suddenly stepped away from him, and looked at the crowd again, before muttering 'loo' and running off.

"Hermione!" He called after her.

_**Hermione's P.O.V.**_

'Oh my god.'

She looked up into the mirror and saw how flushed her face was, though she didn't know if it was from the dancing or from the realization that they'd had the entire crowd watching them dance across the floor.

Tears started falling. She had almost kissed him again. Fantasizing was one thing, but she didn't know if she was ready for it. So much had happened over the last week. Looking up at herself in the mirror, she glared.

"Snap out of it Hermione."

She waved her hand over her face, creating a glamour that would hide the tear tracks and the red puffiness that always followed her tears.

"You're stronger than this." She muttered at her reflection before she exited the bathroom and made her way towards her table, taking the vacated seat next to Severus.

I'm sorry." She murmured.

For the second time that night, a soft finger pushed her chin up. "Don't apologize Hermione. I understand."

Smiling gratefully at him she leaned into his side.

"So," she asked after a while just as his hand moved to cup her cheek. "Where did you learn to dance?"

**So. What did you think? This chapter very nearly ended in a different way, but I figured that it would mess up my plot line. If you would like the alternate ending of this chapter mention it in a review or send me a pm and I'll send it to you.  
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	10. Chapter 10

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE BOTTOM PLEASE!  
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******Sally - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it.**  


******_This chapter was beta-d by Aimless Wonder, who never ceases to amaze me._  
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_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

'Five days' Hermione thought to herself.

It had been five days since the club and her cheeks were still turning red at the memory of the way they had danced. And to top it all off, Severus hadn't been angry at all that she had pulled away.

"Severus," she said timidly, pulling him to the side as their friends walked out, "You're not angry are you? That I pulled away?

"No," he replied, giving her hand a small squeeze in reassurance, "I didn't want our first kiss to be in front of an audience either."

Smiling at the memory, Hermione made her way down the staircase. But whatever she had been expecting to see when she entered the kitchen, bouquet upon bouquet of flowers wasn't it. They were everywhere; she nearly tripped over one as she walked around the corner.

"Where did all this come from?" She asked the crowded kitchen.

Harry smiled at her over a bouquet of roses, munching on a piece of toast. "They all came from the ministry. Don't worry, they're not all for you. This probably just means that our wedding dates are already set. There should be a letter for you somewhere around here."

Hermione glared at him, remembering that the morning after the dance was when she had finished the evaluation and sent it off. She had been a bit reluctant when she'd done it, but still happy.

Picking up the letter that she spied attached to the front of the nearest arrangement, she narrowed her eyes at the flamboyant writing on the thick parchment. Stifling a groan, she opened it.

"Dear Miss Granger," she said in a stuffy, arrogant voice, "I just wanted to thank you for the promptness of filling in the forms. As of yet, we do not have a date set, but we will let you know as soon as possible. As to-"

The letter was snatched from her hand by Ginny, who danced away before she could do anything.

"As to the flower arrangement," she continued, in a voice that sounded awfully like Professor Umbridge's, "They are to commemorate the new initiative that the Ministry has established, namely 'Date Nights'!"

There was a snort from Mrs. Weasley.

"Mondays, as well as Thursdays through to Saturdays have been established as date nights. It has become mandatory that both individuals shall each plan two dates corresponding to these four days."

Harry took it from Ginny when she offered it to him, and Hermione stood there, huffing with her arms crossed over her chest.

"The first date is deemed to be Mr. Snape's choice, and so you are to be ready at 8 o'clock. However you are to converse with your fiancé on who will plan for the remaining days." He cleared his throat then, and in a voice very unlike the man who wrote the letter said, "Yours Sincerely, Harold Mulligan."

As he finished, Aphrodite and a large barn owl flew in the window and landed on the table in front of Hermione.

"Something from Snape?" She stroked Aphrodite's feathers as she untied the letters from her and the other owl.

"Look who's popular today." Ginny said with a cheeky grin, earning a glare from the brightest witch of their age.

Figuring Severus's letter was the lesser of two evils she sat down in front of an empty plate and opened it first.

_Hermione,_

_The infernal ministry of magic has filled my kitchen with obnoxious flowers, and insisted that we have a date tonight at eight, somewhere of my choosing, so dress casual. To answer your question from your last letter, Yes, I do have a house-elf._

_Her name is Pipsy and she has been eager to meet you. She belonged to my mother, and upon her death, has since refused to leave me. She has one day a week off to do as she likes, as well as every other weekend. know that it may not seem like much, but Pipsy down right refuses to take any more than the one galleon a week I've been giving her. I have mentioned your conquests with S.P.E.W. to her but I promise you that, though she admires you, she does not wish to be free._

_Severus_

Smiling at the letter, she placed it down on the table before turning to the other.

"Huh. Wonder what McGonagall wants," she muttered upon seeing the Hogwart's crest.

_Miss Granger,_

_I hope that you and your friends have been doing well. I need to speak with you, today would be preferable. I'm open after lunch._

_Deputy Headmistress_

_Minerva McGonagall_

Have read through it twice, she pulled some food onto her plate, at the same time banishing the flowers upstairs to Ginny's room. "So, did anyone else get an exceedingly obnoxious flower display?"

"I was at the shop yesterday helping out Gred and Forge," said Ron, grinning, "And they both had one."

Hermione smiled. "How are you and Lavender doing?"

Ron's grin faltered for a second.

"Well, she's okay. Still a bit miffed about the necklace thing." He rubbed the back of his head. "And she was irritated last week because I couldn't dance like Snape."

"That's 'Professor Snape' for you, Ronald," she quipped, "Unlike me, you still have a year left of school."

His eyes narrowed and Ginny laughed. "I still can't believe that you got your N.E.W.T.s via owl order while on the run from Voldemort. Only you, Hermione."

"Well they don't call me the brightest witch of my age for nothing," she responded pompously, waving her finger around as she did so, before both Ginny and her broke into a fit of giggles at her antics.

Mrs. Weasley looked at her from her place by the stove. "Hermione dear, what are you doing today?"

"I was going to go to Diagon Alley after breakfast to browse through some things. Get some new parchment, some books and all that. Then McGonagall wants to meet with me after lunch. Do you need me to pick anything up?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I'm running rather short on tangleweed for healing creams, and a few other supplies. I've made a list."

She held up a piece of paper and a money bag, before setting them both on the table. Grabbing the paper, she looked it over.

"Don't worry, it won't be a problem. They should have all of this at the apothecary, if not I'll see if I can get you some through mail order." She quickly finished her meal, before folding the list and putting it in her pocket. Grabbing her hand bag, she stuck her arm in, searching around for a few seconds before finally pulling out a few jars. "Here, you can use some of mine if you need to."

Molly smiled. "No, it's fine dear, I've still got some of the cream left, but I am almost out. I'll be able to whip some up in a jiffy when you get back." Hermione moved towards the door and had her hand on the knob when the Weasley matriarch said gently, "Oh, and good luck at your meeting with Minerva dear!"

Having said her goodbyes, Hermione exited the house and started down the path with a slight skip to herself. She had never really had a big thing for shopping, but she enjoyed going alone as it allowed to spend as much time as she wanted looking at books. Apparating to the Leaky Cauldron, she looked around at the patrons for a moment before continuing to the entrance of the alley.

"Hello, Miss Granger!" Tom called out as he took an order from a customer.

"Hello, Tom." She called back before disappeared through the back-door. Making her way down the tiny alley, she withdrew her wand when she reached the brick wall, before tapping the right brick to allow her entrance.

They alley was just as busy as the day when Hermione had first visited it. With the threat of Voldemort gone, the paths were teeming with wizards and witches. Deciding to get Molly's ingredients first, she headed off to the Apothecary.

Entering the shop, Hermione walked over to one of the many shelves lining the walls; various jars were on display.

"Let's see... Tangleweed. Check."

She turned a few around so that she could see their labels.

"Lacewing flies. Check."

She looked around for the other ingredients, and when she couldn't find them, walked up to the counter.

"Hello?" She called. "Do you have any Argagantuam blossoms and Santerfleeg powder?"

She jumped as two arms suddenly came down from either side of her, setting two jars down on the counter in front of her. Turning slowly, she immediately found herself face to face with her future husband. "Oh! Severus."

"Shopping for tonight?"

Hermione's cheeks turned a stunning red. "I'm really just here to browse. Molly asked if I could pick some things up for her. I thought about getting something for tonight but-"

Severus put his finger against her lip to stop her rambling. "It's fine Hermione, calm down."

"What can I help you with Missus?" A kind voice said from behind her.

Turning back around, Hermione smiled at the elderly lady before pushing the four jars forward.

"I need to purchase these," she said before opening her bag and searching for her purse.

The shopkeeper couldn't help but stare at the fact that her whole arm had disappeared into the bag before shaking her head and ringing up the items. "That will be one galleon and eleven sickles."

Giving a guff when the search for her money bag appeared futile, Hermione removed her arm and pulled out her wand. "Accio money bag."

There was a bit of a jiggle before the bag soared out and landed in her hand. Pulling out the necessary amount of coins, Hermione handed them over to the woman, who then handed her the jars. She placed a cushioning charm on them before putting them in her bag.

"Thank you, ma'am." She said, before turning back to Severus. "So I'll see you tonight?"

"You shall," he replied with a small smile, standing aside so she could move past him towards the door.

Hermione returned the smile with one of her own before ducking out the door. The sound of the doorbell ringing behind her. It wasn't until she was sure that she was out of clear view of the Apothecary that she mentally cursed herself for her previous rambling back in the shop.

'Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.' She repeated to herself as she continued down the alley. Deciding to put the thought behind her, Hermione looked at her watch and realised she still had two hours, so she headed to Flourish and Blotts.

Greeting the owner, Hermione then walked further into the book store, right to the back where the 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' section was located. Having grabbed a couple of books, she quickly paid for them, before exiting the store and making her way down to Madam Malkin's.

"Miss Granger, what a lovely surprise!" The squat witch greeted, smiling up at Hermione as she entered the boutique, "And how can I help you today?"

"I have a date tonight," Hermione answered, "And was told to come casual. Though by wizarding standards I'm not exactly sure what that implies, so I was wondering if you could help me."

"Well, you are not the first to ask, dear." She smiled as she led her to one of the private dressing areas. "In fact, about twenty years ago, I had a red haired woman asking the exact same thing. Though it was to my mother. I was just a youngster then, home from my fifth year at Beauxbatons."

"I was thinking maybe pants with a nice blouse," said Hermione as she looked at reflection in the full length mirror, "I only have jeans at home, and I don't know if that's good enough, you know. And we are getting married, so I figured I might as well make a good impression."

The blonde nodded her head. "What about a knee length skirt with some leggings under them? That way if you're walking the legs won't rub together. I know I don't like wearing skirts because my upper legs rub together and then they're sore."

"That sounds nice," she considered, "Maybe something soft for the skirt? And maybe some lace for the hems of the leggings."

"Hmm. Alright. Now just hold your arms out for a moment, dear." Waving her wand around in a circle, Madam Malkins then pointed it at Hermione; a soft green fabric shot out of the tip and wrapped around her waist until it formed a skirt. The jeans she was wearing appeared folded on a stool to the side.

Lowering her hand to touch the material, Hermione turned to her side to view herself in the mirror, and immediately liked how the skirt accentuated her waist. "I like this. Maybe a darker green..."

With another wave the colour deepened. "That looks lovely."

"I'm definitely take this," Hermione nodded, "But I still think it's a bit too... not casual."

"Well in that case, we can set you up with a material that is similar to denim in it's durability and look, but the feel of it is more similar to silk. Maybe some knee length Capri's?"

At her nod, the elder witch waved her wand again, sending the skirt and matching leggings into a bag on the counter before repeating the same motions as to when she made the skirt.

Her hands flew to her mouth as the garments appeared on her. The knee length Capri's, which did feel like silk to her, where a deep emerald green. The button up blouse with short sleeves was in a metallic silver.

"This is fantastic!"

******So, what did you think? I'm sorry that it's not very long, but I promise that the next chapter will be longer! What do you think their first date should be? In chapter twelve I'm having her reveal how the meeting with McGonnagall goes. I was wondering if you think she would do better as a Transfiguration, Charms, or DADA professor.**


	11. Chapter 11

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. I'm not British, so I don't know if what they ordered would be on a menu in Britain/Scotland. So no hoards of angry people with flaming pitchforks please.**

**P.S.S. Slight angst (still don't know exactly what that word means) during their conversation.**

**P.S.S.S. Judge lightly on the dance scene. Only the second that I've ever written.**

**P.S.S.S.S. Updating this early because it took so long to update the last one.  
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**nope (Ch9) - Thank you! I'm planning on posting out takes in a separate story, I don't know when I'll have it up though.  
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**_Thank you again for beta-ing Aimless Wonder. _  
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_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Eleven**_

Hermione currently stood outside the front door of the Burrow, waiting for Severus to show for their date. She had decided to wear the dark green skirt, and matched it with a floral blouse that she had bought at Witches' International. She'd also bypassed the option of waiting inside with the rest of the family after Ginny had warned her before she'd come downstairs.

_"If I were you," said Ginny as she entered the room, "I'd wait outside because Ronald and Harry are planning on playing the 'if you hurt her, we hurt you' thing on Severus. They convinced the others to play along too, and you know how Charlie can get when he's messing around."_

_"You're serious?" When the redhead only nodded, Hermione sighed. "Well thanks for the warning, Gin. I appreciate it."_

As she checked her watch, Hermione noted that it was exactly 8 o'clock when there was a loud crack before Severus suddenly appeared outside the little gate.

"Hermione?" Onyx eyes pierced her own as she started towards him. "Why are you waiting out here? I would have come inside to get you, you know?"

"Oh, there was no need for that," she said hurriedly, grabbing his arm as he took a step towards the house, "Now let's get out of here before-"

"HEY!" A loud voice yelled out from behind her. "Hold it right there, Missy!"

"Shit."

Hermione groaned while Severus blinked in surprise as Harry and the Weasley boys walked out of the house. Save for Harry, each of the them had their wands out, but they had all crossed their arms crossed over the chests.

"I have thought of Hermione as a sister since our first year at Hogwarts, Severus," said Harry, "And I just wanted to let you know that if you ever hurt her-"

The look he gave now was so menacing, that at that moment, Hermione was sure that even Severus would have been proud of him.

"-you'll have me to answer to."

"And me!" Growled Ron, with all of his brothers conveying the same sentiment. "If you hurt her, I'll make sure you regret it, Snape. That's a promise!"

Glaring at them, Hermione had just opened her mouth to speak when Severus' silky voice cut her off.

"I promise you that I have no intention of hurting Hermione." He said softly.

"And now that we've got that out of the way," Hermione said curtly, "Goodbye. Boys."

Pulling Severus back towards the other side of the fence that surrounded the property. She wrapped her arms around the taller man's neck.

"Can we please go now?" She asked, trying ignore the insecurity that she felt at the knowledge that they would be alone for hours. His eyes flashed with something, before they spun away, appearing in an alley.

"Where are we?" She asked as they stepped out, setting foot into what appeared to be a village.

"A little muggle village not far away from Hogsmeade. There's a wonderful little restaurant here that grants privacy for their customers."

She smiled, entwining their fingers as he started walking.

"Can I say something?" She asked "Just in case I forget to after tonight?"

"Of course," he murmured, reaching his arm across her shoulders as she shivered slightly in the evening breeze.

"I had fun tonight."

Severus blinked in surprise before a grin formed on his face.

"As did I, my dear," he said, chuckling softly, "As did I."

_**~ Severus P.O.V. ~**_

Entering the restaurant that he had picked especially for tonight, they both wiped their shoes on the rug, just as a blonde woman came up to them.

"Mr. Snape!" She greeted, placing a hand on his arm. "Seat in the back as usual?"

"Yes, Trudy." Severus grinned mentally when he caught Hermione's glare out of the corner of his eyes. "Preferably near stage this time, and I'll need it set for two."

"Oh." Trudy looked down at Hermione with a grimace. Obviously, the possibility that they had arrived together had not occurred to her. "You brought somebody with you this time."

"Hermione Granger," introduced Hermione as she held out a hand, "Severus' fiancé."

Though he tried, he couldn't stop the smirk that came to his lips at the conversation. Trudy herself only huffed, having caught the personal reference, before grabbing two menus before walking away. "Follow me."

Severus wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "What was that?"

"She was all over you." Hermione ground out as they followed after the other woman.

"Someone's jealous." Smiling, Severus grabbed her arm to stop her from running into a stationary Trudy.

"What would you like anything to drink?" She asked once they had taken their seats.

"I'll have my usual." He said, voice almost like silk that it made both of women shiver.

Hermione looked at the list of drinks. "I'll just have water."

Trudy nodded stiffly at her before stomping away.

"So," Severus looked at her from across the table, "I'm curious about these fantasies that you've been getting."

He smirked at her blush, before she picked up her menu and proceeded to hide behind it.

"What about them?" She murmured, causing his smirk to widen.

"When did you get the first one?"

Caramel brown peeked at him over the top of her menu. "Does it really matter?"

He raised a brow at her. "It does to me."

He waited patiently as she continued to stare at him, before finally giving a sigh in defeat.

"The first one was actually a lot earlier than Ginny knows," she said, putting the menu down, "It was the night of Buckbeaks execution... or rather the early morning after. I know that you were dreadfully angry that Sirius had escaped, but when you threw yourself in front of Remus to protect us, I was touched."

_**~Hermione's P.O.V.~**_

'Stupid tramp!' Hermione thought as Trudy stomped away. She looked at Severus and realized that he was watching her from across the table.

"So," 'his voice is so sexy' she thought as he continued speaking, "I'm curious about these fantasies that you've been getting."

"What about them?" She murmured after picking up her menu and attempting to hide her blush behind it.

"When did you get the first one?"

"Does it really matter?" She asked, taking the chance to peek at him over the top. She watched he raised a brow.

"It does to me," he answered simply.

Staring at him for a moment as she processed his words, Hermione finally let out sigh before putting down the menu. "The first one was actually a lot earlier than Ginny knows. It was the night of Buckbeaks execution... or really the early morning after. I know that you were dreadfully angry that Sirius had escaped, but when you threw yourself in front of Remus to protect us, I was touched."

Approaching footsteps made her stop and Hermione clenched her jaw at the detestable woman walking towards them. She set a water down in front of Hermione rather heavily, spilling some onto the table.

"Your drink, ma'am." Hermione's eyes narrowed when she set Severus's drink down gently. "Your drink, sir. Have you decided what you'd like to eat yet?"

Severus looked towards Hermione and smiled. "What would you like, darling?"

Hermione smiled. "Chicken Parmesan?"

Trudy nodded and looked at Severus, "And you, sir?"

"The same."

As soon as she walked away Hermione looked at him oddly. "You called me darling."

He nodded slowly. "Yes, I did."

"Why?" She asked, curiosity mixing with the dangerous Gryffindor bravery that so often got her house mates in trouble.

"Because you are me fiancé, and I am yours. I don't appreciate Trudy's sad attempts at flirting with me any more than you do. I'm just more subtle with my dislike for people." He said calmly, taking a drink.

Hermione snorted, and it turned into light giggling.

"You were never subtle about your dislike for Harry." Her giggles stopped suddenly. "Or insufferable know-it-alls."

"Hermione," Severus reached across the table towards her, and took her hand in his, "I know that I have wronged you in the past. And you and your friends have every right to hate me after the way I've treated you. But I only ask that you give me a chance to prove to you that I'm not the same man that I once was. Yes, essentially I am the same person, but I've changed since the fall of Voldemort; changed since the last time I insulted your vast intelligence. You're very smart Hermione, and I'm sorry that I used to cause you pain because of it."

Feeling tears rise up, Hermione quickly her free hand to wipe them away.

"How can I not give you a chance? You threw yourself in front of a werewolf for us. Saved Harry from Crouch Junior when he took him in our fourth year. You've done so much to help us that we weren't supposed to know about." Hermione smiled. "You don't need to apologize for anything Severus."

Their eyes locked as Severus returned her smile with one of his own.

"Would you care to dance?" He finally asked.

_**~ Severus P.O.V. ~**_

"Because you are my fiancé, and I am yours. I don't appreciate Trudy's sad attempts at flirting with me any more than you do. I'm just more subtle with my dislike for people." Severus said calmly, taking a sip of his root beer. He was rather fond of it.

He looked up from his drink when he heard her snort, and raised an eyebrow as she started giggling.

"You were never subtle about your dislike for Harry," his smile slipped off of his face as her giggles stopped, and she continued speaking, "Or insufferable know-it-alls."

Realizing what he had done wrong he reached across the table, and lay his hand on hers.

"Hermione, I know that I have wronged you in the past. And you and your friends have every right to hate me after the way I've treated you." He paused, and took a shaky breath. "Buy I only ask that you give me a chance to prove to you that I'm not the same man that I once was. Yes, essentially I am the same person, but I've changed since the fall of Voldemort; changed since the last time I insulted your vast intelligence. You're very smart Hermione, and I'm sorry that I used to cause you pain because of it."

He seemed to be having issues keeping his mind off of all that he'd done wrong when she wiped at her falling tears.

"How can I not give you a chance? You threw yourself in front of a werewolf for us. Saved Harry from Crouch Junior when he took him in our fourth year." She paused to wipe at her face more fervently. "You've done so much to help us that we weren't supposed to know about."

She smiled at him, and twisted her hand around to entwine their fingers. "You don't need to apologize for anything, Severus."

Their eyes locked and he couldn't help returning her smile. Nodding his head towards the empty floor in front of the stage, he whispered, "Would you care to dance?"

She took one last swipe at her face, and nodded. Standing, he gently lead her to the clear space, ignoring the glances they were getting from other customers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, whilst his went around her waist, before laying her head on his chest. Severus slowly moved them in circles around the floor, only for them to both suddenly jumped when the mild trill of a violin started to play.

He felt Hermione pull away slightly, to look between him and the violinist just as the other musicians began to join in. Severus smiled when she looked back at him, giving a small curtsy, his face feeling warmer than it had been since his fifth year. He bowed and reached out with his hand, and when they were in the proper position, started moving around the floor in a slow waltz.

She started laughing when he spun her a few times, before leaning further into him.

"You really are an excellent dancer," she whispered, and his face softened when her hand came up from his shoulder to caress his cheek.

Severus grabbed it as it fell, both of them coming to a slow stop, and continuing to stand in the middle of the floor as the music surrounded them. The hand on her back slid up until it came to rest at her nape, his fingers wrapping themselves in her warm tresses.

"Severus," she whispered to him, breathing hitched as he leaned closer.

He swallowed.

"Yes?" He answered breathily.

"Kiss me."

'With pleasure' he thought, bringing his mouth down firmly on hers with as much passion as he could possibly muster. He growled in approval when he felt both her hands slide behind his neck, pulling them closer together.

_**~Hermione's P.O.V.~**_

'_Na na na na' _Hermione sang as she walked into the kitchen, face spread into a wide smile. _'Na na na na hey. You are the music in me.'_

She started to waltz around the room, humming all the while. It wasn't until she had moved into the living room that the light suddenly turned on and she immediately found herself staring at a room full of grinning people.

"I take it that your date when well?" Harry asked from his chair as Ginny came up to her and gave her a hug.

Raising a hand to touch the lips, Hermione smiled when she remembered the kiss.

"Oh, it was absolutely wonderful." She sighed, grabbing Ginny's hands and spinning them around. "We started dancing, and then band joined in. The music was incredible... and then it happened."

She stopped moving and touched her lips again.

"What happened?" Ron asked, clueless as always.

Ginny smiled knowingly, tapping her own lips in remembrance of her first kiss with Harry. "He stole her breath away."

"My heart skipped a beat." She sang softly to herself, fighting back a yawn. "It was like nothing and everything I had ever imagined it would be. Even after all those years of fantasizing, all of those expectations were blown completely out of the water when he kissed me."

Harry walked up to her, and pulled her against him. "I'm very happy for you, 'Mione."

Now she did yawn as she leaned against him. "Thank you, Harry."

"Sounds like somebody's tired," called George, "That must have been some kiss."

"Considering how tired you are, I'm surprised you didn't just sleep over at his place." Fred joked, just as Hermione slumped against Harry's shoulder, mumbling softly.

Harry smiled at them before leaning forward slightly to pick Hermione up bridal style. Ginny followed after him as he walked up the staircase. Opening the door for him as he arrived outside of her door.

"I'm glad that she had a good time," she whispered enthusiastically as he set Hermione down on the spare bed.

"Me too," he replied before pulling her in for a quick kiss.

Ginny moaned as he pulled away and exited her room.

"Good night, love."

She smiled after him as he shut the door.

"Night."

**So. What did you think? Does this satisfy for the first kiss?**


	12. Chapter 12

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. Angstyness warning. Heavy conversations ahead.**

**P.S.S. Kind of borrowed the idea of the Truth game from the novel the Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. I love that book.**

**P.S.S.S. I'm like seven reviews away from two hundred. The two hundredth reviewer will get to choose a pairing and rating for a one shot that I'll make.  
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**KIMBER - THANK YOU! I'M GLAD THAT YOU LIKED IT. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL GO BUT I PROMISE THERE ARE STILL A GREAT MANY CHAPTERS INVOLVED.  
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**Guest - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it!  
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**_This chapter was beta-d by Aimless Wonder. _  
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_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Twelve**_

"I've got a surprise for you all!" Said Hermione as she settled down at the breakfast table, smiling at the occupants.

"Before you spill all." Ginny mock glared at her across the table. "I've got a bone to pick with you."

"What is it about this time?"

"You fell asleep in my man's arms last night!"

Hermione's smile widened.

"I couldn't help myself, Gin!" She said, taking a sip of her coffee. If Ginny wanted to play, then she'd play. "He was just so... irresistible."

The twins started laughing. "So, you never did tell us-"

"What McGonagall wanted yesterday."

Hermione grinned, "Well..."

_She walked slowly up the revolving staircase leading to the Headmistresses office. Knocking on the door when she reached the top, Hermione was greeted with a soft yet stern "Enter."_

_As she entered, Hermione noted that the office more or less looked the same as the last time she had been in there._

_"You wanted to see me, Professor?" She asked after closing the door behind her._

_Minerva motioned to a chair on the opposite side of the desk. "Have a seat Hermione, and please, call me Minerva."_

_Hermione gave a nod and smiled as she sat down, "What can I do for you today?"_

_Her old head of house picked up a folder._

_"I wanted to speak to you about the application you sent in last week." She sifted through the documents in the folder before replacing it back down on the desk. "You did remarkably well on you N.E.W.T.'s, especially with them being through an owl course."_

_"Thank you." she said. "I knew that life after being on the run would be difficult if I didn't have something to do with my time. On the run there was a lot of spare time, when we didn't know what our next step was. That allowed me to finish the classes. I even snuck out long enough without Ron or Harry knowing to sit for the exams shortly before we were caught by snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor."_

_Minerva gave her an odd look. "I saw that you listed Transfiguration, Charms, or Defense Against the Dark Arts as your positions of choice."_

_"Yes. And not to sound vain or anything, but I've always been excellent in both Charms and Transfiguration. Plus I thought, that since I've been gaining practical knowledge since first year, that Defense Against the Dark Arts would also be a lovely option."_

_"I would agree," the elder woman nodded, "Which is why I'm offering for you to work full-time in the library, while you apprentice for a year to gain the knowledge that you would need to teach full-time."_

_"Really?" Hermione squealed as her hands flying to her mouth. "That would be fantastic! Which position will I be apprenticing for?"_

_"Defense Against the Dark Arts. Also, for the year that you're working in the library, I want you to set up a tutoring schedule. I will have the heads of houses give you a list of the best and worst students. You will pair them up and oversee the tutoring sessions."_

_Hermione was still smiling, and nodded along with what she was saying._

_"Thank you so much!" She said, reaching across to shake the old woman's hand. "Again, this is fantastic! I promise that I won't let you down!"_

_Minerva smiled._

_"After you have completed your apprenticeship, you will also be given the status of Gryffindor Head of House." The woman's lips twitched. "Taking the advice of a certain ex-headmaster, Hagrid was granted temporary head status."_

"I can't believe it." Molly shook her head as the inhabitants of the Burrow started laughing. "Hagrid. Head of Gryffindor. Who would have thought?"

Hermione smiled for even she had never imagined the possibility.

"So you'll be at Hogwarts this next year with us." Ron burst out.

"Yes," Hermione's eyes narrowed, "But that doesn't mean that I will be going over all of your essays and homework assignments as I used to."

He couldn't help but look sheepish.

"Have you told lover boy?" Ginny asked.

"Not yet. I'm going to tell him tonight."

Harry swallowed his food as she took the first bite of her BLT. "It's another date, right?"

She nodded, and swallowed before speaking. "Yes, and another one tomorrow, but it's my choice tonight."

Harry nodded, "So what's the plan?"

"Well I was actually hoping that you could help me with something." She asked, suddenly turning puppy dog eyes on him.

"Hermione," he groaned, "you know that I can't say no when you do that. What do you want?"

She turned to Molly however, as she began to talk. "I was wondering if you could help me pack a picnic. Food for lunch, maybe some snack foods, and a bottle of wine? I already have the wine, but my cooking isn't as satisfactory as yours."

Mrs. Weasley smiled at her. "Of course, dear. I'd be delighted."

Hermione turned back to Harry. "That, kind sir, is where you come in."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly. "And where exactly do I come in?"

"The Forest of Dean," she said, watching as his face froze for a second before he nodded. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to go set it up. If you don't want to I'll understand, but I was just curious."

He gave her a long look. "You seriously think that that's the best place to have a bloody picnic?"

She nodded.

"Yes, I do. It's secluded, and I was wanting to," at this point she paused, looking down at her hands, "I want to speak to him about some of the things that we did when we were on the run. I... I thought it would be a nice place without the cloud of possible death hanging over our heads."

She heard the inhales of breath as Harry started speaking. "Hermione, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought that maybe you'd have bad memories of the place. If it really doesn't bother you, then of course I'll help."

She took a few bites of her sandwich before she looked at him.

"Of course I have bad memories of the place; that was after Ron left. But I'm never going to get over them until I talk about it."

"What time do you need it set up by?" Ginny asked softly, taking Harry's hand. "I'll go with him and help."

"Three," Hermione said, smiling gratefully. "I'll apparate us near by, and we'll walk there. I'm packing quite a few candles into my bag and I'll light them if it starts getting dark."

"Is he coming here to pick you up?" George asked, causing her to look at Fred.

"What?" He asked awkwardly.

"I think that's the first time the two of you haven't said something together."

"Dearest Hermione-"

"Whatever are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing. And to answer your question; no, he is not picking me up. We're meeting at Flourish and Blotts at one thirty. I'm planning to look for new course material for teaching. I also want ask him about experience with the subject."

_**~ Severus P.O.V. ~**_

Severus walked into the bookshop at exactly ten past one. He'd wanted to browse through the potion books before Hermione arrived. He was pleasantly surprised though, when he came across said witch in the potion's section.

"_You can try to stop my dancing feet, but I just cannot stand still."_he heard her sing as he walked up behind her. _"Cause the world keeps spinning round and round."_

"Hairspray?" he whispered in her ear.

"EEP!" Hermione squealed, jumping as she spun around; holding her hand over her heart as she slumped against the shelf. "Severus. You scared me."

He smirked, giving her a look that said that that had been his intention.

"You're early," he said as she calmed down and looked at her watch.

"So are you," she said before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his cheek; he blushed lightly.

"Congratulations," he said, looking at the books. He caught the look that she sent him in the corner of his eyes.

"For what?" she asked.

"I hear that you're being chosen for the DADA position, which means that you'll be ghosting my class a lot."

"What?"

"I'm teaching both DADA and Potions this year."

She shook her head, smiling. "And here I was, worrying that we wouldn't be able to spend much time together when school started."

"Finding acceptable living quarters will be annoying though. According to McGonnagall there aren't a lot of usable spare rooms after the battle," she said and he smirked at the obviously forced frown that she plastered on her face. "The only place she could find was near Trelawney's quarters."

"I've already had a house elf add another room to my own quarters."

She sent him a coy smile. "We're not going to share a room?"

He felt his breath leave him in one gust, and he mentally cursed when his voice came out thick. "We could, but I didn't want to be presumptuous."

His face warmed considerably when her laughter rang through the air, before her arms came around him..

"Thank you," she said, leaning into him. "I thought today was going to awkward."

Severus brought his arms around her. "I admit that I too may have been a bit worried."

"Hmm. Now." She leaned back in his arms and looked up at him. "I want your opinion on DADA books."

"For teaching?" She nodded and he continued. "Let us see what they have in stock."

An hour later she had her purchases shrunk and stored in her bag.

When they walked back out into the alley Hermione took his hand and pulled him into an open space between two shops.

"Hold on tight." She told him and Severus wrapped his arms around her as she spun them away. When they came to a stop they arrived he looked around them.

"Where are we?"

"Forest of Dean." she muttered, walking them towards where the trio's campsite had been those months ago.

He shot her a strange look, and pulled her against him. "Are you sure that you're ready for this?"

She looked up at him. "I'm never going to be able to get over my past if I don't talk about it. There are some things that I've never shared, and I just thought that maybe it would be good to learn about each others worst memories."

He released her, and took her hand. "Lead away."

She lead them forward, weaving a path around trees, and roots that he didn't notice until she pulled him aside to avoid them. He had taken to looking up at the treetops before she finally stopped.

"Here we are."

He looked around the small clearing they had entered and was surprised to see a blanket layed out, a basket sitting atop it. There were also several candles spread out across the clearing.

"When did you do this?" he asked, completely shocked.

She pulled him forward, avoiding the candles and the bushes as they approached it.

"I asked someone to help me," said Hermione, pulling off her sandals before she stepped onto the blanket.

Severus followed her lead before joining her on the blanket. "Let me guess. This person has black hair, green eyes, and glasses that look older than he is."

Hermione smiled warmly, nodding. "He's like a brother to me, and he's happy that I'm happy. I was never in a relationship at school, and though I did like Ronald for a while I knew that it wouldn't ever work between the two of us. The candles were all him. I only asked for him to come and set up the blanket and put the basket here."

The spread was delicious and had been more than enough for the two of them. As they ate they kept conversation to a minimum, each taking the time to savor all the food. It wasn't until after he had downed his second glass of wine that Severus finally spoke.

"Do you want to walk to the lake?" He asked quietly, setting down the wineglass.

"What?"

"The lake. It's where Harry found the sword. I was wondering if you'd like to go there." She reached for his hand, and they stood up, putting their shoes back on before leaving the clearing. "I was in my office when Phineas informed me that you were here. So I came here after taking the sword from behind Albus' portrait. I was wandering around for quite a bit until I found the lake. It was frozen then, so I made a crack in the ice and dropped the sword in, before sealing it up again."

She dropped his hand and wrapped her arm around his waist, and leaned her head against his shoulder as he continued speaking. They walked past a few more trees before the trees parted around a clearing with the lake right in the middle. He lead them along the bank, towards the trees on the other side.

"I stood right here after I disillusioned myself, then sent my patronus to find the three of you. I hadn't realized that Weasley had left until he had pulled out Harry from the water. After they had destroyed the horcrux, I went straight back to Hogwarts."

Hermione turned them towards the lake.

"Ron left us weeks before that. When Harry woke me up after they came back, I attacked the stupid ginger git." She glared at the water. "After he left, Harry and I went to Godric's Hollow because he thought Dumbledore might have left the sword there. That's where we met Bathilda Bagshot. She'd already been killed but Nagini had hidden herself inside her body; she attacked when we went to her house. It's how I broke Harry's wand; I'm sure it was the blasting charm I used when trying to escape."

She seemed to be staring off into space and Severus arms tightened around her.

"He knew Voldemort was coming because of his scar, so he apparated us right out there; not before I saw Voldemort's red eyes appear in the window. If we'd stayed just a second longer we would have been dead."

As she trailed off, Severus began leading them back the way they had come.

"That was the night I stopped the Carrows from torturing the Weaslette. I was in the hallways when they came up behind her, and just managed to intervene. Told them if they wanted to punish a student then they at least needed to make sure that the student had done something wrong."

Hermione wiped at her face, seemingly shocked to find herself crying.

"I'm sorry." She whispered quietly.

"For what?"

She gave him a look that was a cross between sheepish and worried. "I wasn't planning to get into this part of the conversation this early. I figured we would play truth or something before we even started talking about the heavy stuff."

It was at that point that they arrived back in the clearing; Severus sat down them down and pulled her back against his chest. "I'm sorry for bringing it up then."

She threaded their fingers together. "Don't apologize."

"So explain this game to me."

"We take turns asking each other questions and we have to answer truthfully. If one of us refuses to answer the question, then to win the other must answer their own question."

"Do you want to start?" Severus asked quietly, hoping that this would ease some of her tension.

"What's your favorite color?" She asked.

"The tannish white of aged parchment," whispered Severus, before leaning down to her ear. "At least that's what it was before I realized how beautiful you are when you blush. I don't know if they have a name for it, but it's my favorite right now."

She blushed, partially due to both his words, and the tingles that went down her spine at his whisper.

"Thank you." She murmured.

"What house did you think that you would be in before you arrived at Hogwarts?" he asked softly.

She smiled and leaned back into him further. "As you've probably guessed my parent's bought me a few extra books so that I would be as prepared as possible. After reading about the different houses I thought that I would be in either Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

"Slytherin?" She felt him tense slightly behind her, his tone skeptical.

She nodded her head. "I was, shall we say, sneaky when I was living at the orphanage. I spent a lot of time sitting on the rooftop at night when I was supposed to be sleeping."

She looked up at the darkening sky.

"My turn."

_**~ Hermione's P.O.V. ~**_

Hermione was surprised at herself, she hadn't realized just how much she trusted him until she started speaking about how she thought she could have gotten into Slytherin.

"Slytherin?" his voice called from behind her, as she felt him tense.

She nodded, "I was, shall we say, sneaky when I was living at the orphanage. I spent a lot of time sitting on the rooftop at night when i was supposed to be sleeping."

Hermione looked up at the sky and was slightly surprised to see that the sun was considerably lower in the sky than it was when they arrived.

"My turn," she said, thinking of what to ask him. "Where did you learn to dance?"

"My mother. She taught me during the times that my father spent in prison. That it was proper for me to know how to dance that way I'd be able to sweep girls off of their feet; said that dancing the night away was the best way to get into a woman's heart."

Hermione smiled, and pulled his hand up to her lips and pressed a kiss across his knuckles. "I would have loved to have met her."

"I'm sure she would have loved to have known you as well." He paused. "How old were you when your father started taking you to dancing lessons?"

"Nine, but we weren't very good at it until I starting growing taller; it was easier for him when he didn't have to bend over as much. But it was great fun. In our early years dancing we spent more time laughing than we did dancing." She felt him nod. "What made you interested in potions?"

She heard him inhale sharply, and hesitate before speaking. "When I was six, I got a bad case of the flu. My father took me to the doctor while my mother was at her friends, because he thought that it was from him hitting me in the stomach. The doctor gave me medicine that didn't work. My mother, when she got home later that week, saw the state that I was in and ran a simple diagnostic spell on me, and realized that I had a case of the Wizard Flu. It took her two hours to brew the potion, and as soon as I took it I felt better. I was amazed that after a week the medicine that the doctor gave me didn't make me feel any better, but the instant I swallowed that potion, the pain and the nausea went away."

Hermione turned in his lap, straddled his waist. "I'm sorry. I keep asking you questions that in some way, shape, or form brings up your mother. If you want to speak of something else we can."

He shook his head.

"It's fine." He paused before locking eyes with her. "I have to ask you something, but it's not a part of the game."

"Ask away."

He pulled a box out of his pocket. "I know that we're getting married anyways, but I wanted you to know that I would want to marry you either way. So I ask you this, will you marry me?"

Hermione's eyes widened, and when his words registered in her mind she started kissing his face.

"Yes!" She squealed lightly, since her face was so close to his ears. "At the start of this thing I was slightly angry because we had no choice. But this makes me feel like we do have a choice, and I want to make this right."

He opened the box when she leaned back and she gasped, looking up at him. "It's so beautiful."

It had a simple band, but the diamond was cut so it had six sides.

He slid it onto her finger and started speaking calmly. "I don't know what words people would use to describe the way that I feel about you. But if it isn't love, I have every faith and confidence that it will be someday."

Hermione leaned forward again, and pressed her lips against his. "Thank you, Severus. This means the world to me."

**So, what did you think?**


	13. Chapter 13

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. this story is (obviously by now) not canon.**

**P.S.S. Sorry that this chapter is kind of shorter.**

**Anon Review Replies**

**_For the anonymous reviews I go to where they start on the previous chapter and work my way up. For the multiple Guests on the same day, if you don't remember which review was yours just find yours. For those of you who would like to comment on the fact that the replies look the same, it's because I always try to start with at the very least Thank you! All of the reviews that I've received have just touched me, and continues to be a great inspiration. _  
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**Guest (10-19) - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it! Hermione's more of the type to suffer in silence and does so throughout the series. I wanted to show that she was undoubtedly beginning to trust him.  
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**Guest (10-19) - Thank you! *squeal* I'm glad that you liked it!  
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_**This chapter was beta-d by the fantabulous Aimless Wonder, who never ceases to amaze me.**_

_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_**~Severus P.O.V.~**_

Severus softly kicked at the door with his foot, so as not to wake the sleeping woman in his arms. Molly was grinning when she opened the door, and when she saw them it grew.

"Severus. Long day?" she asked as she motioned him to come in.

"Not really," he answered quietly. "We had quite the talk. I think some parts of the conversation stressed her out more than either of us had expected."

Her smile dropped at his words. "I hope she's okay. She did mentioned that she was going to talk about her past."

Severus felt his eyes turn black and his lips turn into a scowl. "After what she told me, I wish I could go back and stop them from happening, or find the person that caused her pain and make them pay. She's gone through so much that she hasn't told anyone about until tonight. Hopefully now she'll be able to start healing."

_"Severus," Hermione spoke from her seat beside him. "I need to tell you something, and after I do I'll completely understand if you want to cancel with the ministry."_

_He raised an eyebrow."I doubt what you can say will scare me away. I was a spy for nearly twenty years. I've seen and done a lot of things."_

_"During the final battle. I was... attacked." she whispered, and feeling the implication in her words Severus tightened his arm around her. "I was running through a corridor on my way to the grand staircase, when I was yanked into a room. The man was wearing a mask, so I never saw his face. But he froze me, and stuck me to the door. All he said after he took off my clothes was that it would hurt, before he forced himself on me. After he was done he left. I looked at my watch and realized that nearly twenty minutes had passed, so I threw my clothes back on and ran towards the Great Hall to meet up with Harry and Ron."_

_His voice broke when he spoke. "Yo.. you were raped?"_

_She started sobbing and he pulled her into his lap. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that you're stuck with someone as broken as I am."_

_"Hermione, you aren't broken. I'm not going to leave you because of this. If anything I'll just hold you closer so that nobody will ever be able to hurt you again."_

"She told me something that she thought would make me leave her, and I did something that would prove to her that I wouldn't."

Molly looked at him oddly, "What did you do?"

Severus gently and slowly lifted the arm of Hermione's that was between her and his chest, and held the hand out for Molly to see. "I asked her to marry me."

He was suddenly wrapped in two pairs of arms. "That's just lovely, Severus."

"Show me the ring!" Ginny demanded from behind them. He turned slowly so as not to wake Hermione up, and Ginny looked sheepish before her eyes found the ring and she squealed again.

"That's gorgeous." She squealed once more and clapped her hands before looking at him with curiosity shining across her face. "How did you ask her?"

"Does it matter as long as I said yes?" Hermione mumbled, shooting her best friend a death glare. "Will you stop bloody squealing? I'm trying to sleep here."

Severus laughed, causing her to smile. "It's nice that you're awake. It will save me from carrying you up all the bloody stairs in this house."

She shot him a mocking glare. "What if I said I don't want to leave your arms?"

"I'd probably ask if there was a possibility that your food was poisoned," he replied with a raised brow, "but since it was Potter who set it up I figure that's a stupid question."

Her eyes shone with laughter as she mimicked his expression.

"Why? Harry was very nearly a Slytherin. Maybe he did poison my food, because he's got the hots for your sexy self!" She said nonchalantly.

_**~ Hermione's P.O.V. ~**_

She was being held, in very warm arms might she add. She was wondering what had awoken her when Ginny squealed again. "How did you ask her?"

Hermione mentally groaned, realizing the redhead had somehow found out about the engagement ring that Severus had given her.

"Does it really matter as long as I said yes?" Hermione mumbled, giving her best female friend a glare that could fry eggs. "Will you stop bloody squealing? I'm trying to sleep here."

She nuzzled herself into the person holding her. She didn't realize it was Severus until her body started shaking in time with his deep chuckles. "It's nice that you're awake. It will save me from carrying you up all the bloody stairs in this house."

Despite her smile, she shot him a mocking glare. "What if I said I don't want to leave your arms?"

Her smile widened as his voice of silk said, "I'd probably ask if there was a possibility that your food was poisoned, but since it was Potter who set it up I figure that's a stupid question."

"Why? Harry was very nearly a Slytherin. Maybe he did poison my food, because he's got the hots for your sexy self!" She said as nonchalantly as possible, at the same time trying to wiggle out of his arms, but they tightened.

"Don't think that you can get away easily after that comment."

She shrugged as much as she could with his arm under her shoulders. "What ever do you mean Sev?"

He set her down and walked to the door, stepping around the two Weasley women.

"Just be ready tomorrow at seven," he said before turning and smirking at her. "Wear something you don't mind getting dirty."

She raised an eyebrow with a smile on her face. "Should I be afraid?"

"Ob-" he held it out like he had in her fifth year and Hermione's smile widened as he finished, "-viously."

Unable to stop her laughter, she walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning up so that her mouth was less than an inch away from his ear she whispered, "Don't I get a goodbye kiss?"

He turned his head and pressed his lips to her cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, before slipping out of the door, and walking down the path way to the gate; he apparated as soon as he passed it.

**o.o**

The fingers drifted below her waistband and started teasing the bundle of nerves, and eliciting a moan from both counter parts.

"Oh, Sev," moaned Hermione as she raised her hips to meet his hand. She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down, forcing their lips together.

Hermione jerked up in bed, and ran her hands over her face. She wanted to say that the dreams were getting worse, but if she were being honest they were just getting better. Running her hands through her hair, she looked at the clock before groaning and plopping back on the bed.

"Four o'bloody'clock." She muttered, before pulling on a pair of pajama pants before heading downstairs. Exiting through back-door in the kitchen, she walked out to a small hill that stood near the Weasley's orchard.

She wasn't sitting out there for very long when she heard approaching footsteps, before the person sat down and an arm came around her shoulders.

"What's wrong, 'Mione?" Harry asked softly. "You haven't had problems sleeping since we went looking for horcruxes."

Hermione leaned against him, sighing.

"I don't know what's happening." she whispered.

"Talk to me about it, that way we can both go back to sleep." He said as he rubbed her arm in an attempt to keep her warm.

"I'm so worried that he's going to go back to disliking us. This last week, since that night at the club, has been absolutely magical, and I don't want it to change." She wiped her hand at her face, not shocked at all to find tears. "I don't want to lose him, Harry."

"Do you want me to tell you what I think?" Harry asked her softly, and when she nodded he continued. "I think that you love him. I think that you started loving him since he threw himself in front of Remus to protect us, and that the feelings have just grown since then. I think that what you're really worried about is that you're in love with the man he was and not the man that he is."

Her shoulders started shaking against him, and he turned so that he could wrap both arms around her.

"Then why did I like Ron?" she cried.

"Because you saw him every day. Except the times where he left us or you two were arguing, Ron has always been there. I remember seeing a movie, called Silence of the Lambs, and I remember one of the actors saying that you covet what you see every day. I think that your feelings for Ron simply came to be because he was familiar to you."

She slowly stopped crying, and lay her head on his shoulder. "Then why did I never fall in love with you?"

"Because I'm too much of a Gryffindor. I jump into things with out thinking, and subconsciously you didn't want someone who could go off to do some valiant act and die, leaving you alone." He leaned his head against hers. "That and we fought a lot less than you and Ronald did so you were probably worried about messing up our friendship."

"You're the best brother that I never knew I wished I had." She whispered before leaning away and giving him an odd look. "And when did you get so insightful?"

"When my sister is the smartest witch of her age, and logic is one of her favorite weapons. I had to learn some to combat your own, and everything that I've said was based on years of spending time with you and knowing what it is that you need," he said, deep green eyes seeming to glow as the moonlight struck them. "And you need to stop worrying. I'd bet every galleon in my vaults that Severus loves you too."

As they both stood up, Hermione hugged him.

"Thank you Harry," she said, releasing a large yawn. "I think that I'll be able to go back to sleep now."

He hugged her back, and whispered in her ears, "I'll always be here for you Hermione. No matter what time of day or night, if you need to talk, I want you to know that you can come to me."

"Thanks," she said, pulling back and turning towards the house. His arm settled on her shoulders as they walked towards the silent building.

"Any time," he replied.

They entered the kitchen and walked slowly up the staircase together, not separating until they reached Ginny's door.

**So, what did you think? The next chapter will be fun! We'll finally find out what happened to Rita!**


	14. Chapter 14

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**Sorry about the delay. My mind has just been crazy.  
**

**Anon Review Replies**

**notlori925 - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it!  
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**Guest (10/25) - Thank you!  
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**_Thank you for beta-ing my story again Aimless._  
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_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_**~Severus P.O.V.~**_

Severus stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the frame for the door into Ginny's room. His eyes watching as Hermione's body moved in her sleep on the bed. He didn't turn when he heard footsteps approaching up the staircase.

"She's going to be angry," he said, unable to stop the smile that twisted his lips.

A hand clapped him on the back and he turned his head to look at the other; who held a steaming mug of black liquid which Severus assumed to be coffee.

"As angry as she'll be," said Harry, "she'll be thrilled with your creativity."

"Is she a morning person?" he asked quietly, so as not to wake the sleeping brunette.

"Usually. She was up at four this morning, but went back to sleep within half an hour."

Severus raised a brow. "What happened?"

"Nothing serious," he said, smiling as he shook his head lightly. "Just a friend who needed some comfort."

When he held out the mug to him, Severus straightened from his position and took it from him.

"If you're serious about waking her up this early you're going to need to give her that."

Severus grinned at him, and when he made his back down the stairs, said, "Thanks Pot... Harry."

"You're welcome, Professor," he called back over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

Turning back towards the room, he entered and approached the bed. He held the coffee in his left hand as his right reached forward and shook Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione, time to get up."

She groaned as she rubbed her face against the pillow. "G'way. Lemme sleep Sevvy."

"Sevvy?" Severus's eyebrow shot up.

"Sev I can handle. I can do Toby, even though it was my ass hole father's name," he said, voice shaking with mock anger.

He paused for affect as she looked at him with sleep filled eyes. "But I absolutely refuse to be known by 'Sevvy'."

All he got was a snort before she groaned again.

"What time is it?" she asked softly after several seconds.

"Nearly a quarter after seven. You're late."

It took a while before the words seemed to register in her brain, after which she proceeded to glare up at him.

"When you said be ready at seven I assumed that you meant seven in the evening."

Smirking, he extended the hand holding the mug towards her. "Well, you know what they say happens when you assume."

She giggled as she reached out to take the coffee. "Makes an ass of you and me."

He nodded.

"You have fifteen minutes before I come up with a bucket of ice water." He said, with a smile on his face and a chirp to his voice. Leaving her to beverage, Severus turned and exited the room, making his way downstairs to the join the Weasleys (and Potter).

"How'd it go?" asked Harry as soon as he'd entered.

"Gave her the coffee and told her if she wasn't down in fifteen minutes I'd empty a bucket of ice water on her person."

Harry's eyes widened slightly as chuckling erupted around the table. "That may not have been the best idea."

Severus was about to ask why when he noticed everyone's gazes shift to something behind him. Blinking, he turned around, only to find himself staring down the end of a wand tip. "Wha-"

"Gelidus Aguamenti."

He yelped as he was struck with a jet of cold water. "What the bloody hell, woman!?"

He continued to splutter as she cut the charm off.

"I don't take well to threats, Sevvy."

_*** Hermione's P.O.V. ***_

Wand in hand, Hermione made her way down the stairs, not wanting to make her approach noticeable to the occupants in the dining room. Pausing on the last step, she listened carefully to their conversation before Harry said, "That may not have been the best idea."

Finally stepping down onto the landing, she quietly moved into view of the table, in case Severus was facing her direction. Catching Harry's eye, Hermione gave him a grin, and smirked mentally when Severus turned to see what he was looking at.

His cross-eyed expression when he found himself staring down at the tip of her wand was comical.

"Gelidus Aguamenti."

He let out a yelp as the jet of ice-cold water shot out from the tip of her wand and hit him right in the face.

"What the bloody hell, woman!?"

Cutting the charm off she replied simply, "I don't take well to threats, Sevvy."

She watched as the emotions flickered across his face before he smirked menacingly. She took a step back, unaware of how wide her eyes had gotten.

"I don't take well to having icy water shot at me." He pulled a gift bag out of his pocket and held it up for her inspection. "I even brought you a present which, luckily, I cast Impervius on before I came up to get you."

She brightened slightly at that, before taking a step closer.

"I'm sorry for the water." Looking down, she bit on her lower lip lightly as her feet toed the carpet. "That was mean of me after you brought me coffee."

She felt his soft fingers slide under her chin, pushing it up so that her eyes met his obsidian orbs. "Don't apologize, my dear. Would you like your present?"

Her eyes bore into his as if searching for any sign that he was angry. When she found none the corners of her lips turned up. "Only if you're sure that you're not angry at me. I really wasn't trying to upset you, Severus."

He held the little bag out to her. "I promise I'm not angry."

Hermione kept her eyes on his as she put her hand in the bag and pulled out the object inside. She finally broke the gaze, before turning her eyes on the jar she was holding. The first thing that she noticed was the tiny holes in the lid. The second, was the beetle that had distinct markings around it's eyes.

"Holy fuck." Her eyes shot to Severus. "Is this who I bloody think it is?"

"If by that you mean 'Is this Rita Skeeter?', then your answer is, yes."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him. "How long have you had her?"

"Since we met at the Hogs Head. Harry saw her try to fly away after you stormed out, and captured her. She has since been under my," he paused as if searching for the word to use, "care."

Hermione glared at the beetle. "She was eavesdropping on our entire conversation?... Even about my parents?"

Severus nodded, and looked around at the room; most of the inhabitants looked more than slightly confused. "Yes. I figured the first place we could stop was at the Ministry of Magic, to turn in an unregistered Animagus."

Hermione grinned.

_**~Ministry of Magic~**_

Hermione and Severus walked, hand in hand, towards the lifts at the end of the atrium, ignoring the many that stopped to stare as they went past. Reaching the front desk, behind which, was seated a lanky wizard, they immediately withdrew their wands from their pockets and held them out to be examined.

"Names?" he asked softly, preparing to right them down on a piece of paper.

"Hermione Jean Granger and Severus Tobias Snape," stated Severus.

Finished with his examination, he handed them their wands before slipping the paper onto a long needle that was filled with similar papers. He then told them to go through.

Entering one of the lifts, they were slowly taken down to the level that had the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Miss Granger?"

Over the low walls of his cubicle, Kingsley looked surprised at their approach. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione smiled at him. "I'm here to report Rita Skeeter as an unregistered animagus. I'd also like to press charges against her for slander."

"Unregistered animagus?" Kingsley raised a brow. "Where is she, now?"

She held up the jar. "Right here."

Kingsley walked around the walls, and gently took the jar from her. "We'll investigate this straight away... though it does explain a lot of things. Thanks for this!"

Bidding him farewell, Hermione and Severus walked back to the lifts, their arms round each others' waist. They took the ride back up to the atrium, before exiting the lift and made for the apparition point, after which, Severus turned and pulled her against him with his hand. "Are you ready for our date, love?"

Though shocked at the new term of endearment, Hermione nodded. Spinning on the spot, they appeared by a creek, under a smoggy sky.

"It's just a short walk away from here."

Keeping their hands clasped as he pulled her on a path that led away from the creek, and into a suburb. Hermione was looking around at the gloomy houses when Severus suddenly stopped them outside of one. "This is where I grew up."

Hermione looked at him, and then at the house they were standing in front of. The outside of the house that wasn't covered with what looked like soot was a deep green.

"It's... charming," she said softly, not wanting to offend him.

He chuckled as he led her up the walkway, he opened the door and they both stepped in, shutting it behind them.

"Master?" Soft footsteps started approaching. "I thoughts you hads a date this mornings."

When the small house elf rounded the corner she froze. Hermione stepped forward with a smile. "It's lovely to meet you, Pipsy."

"Missus Granger, it's nice to meet yous, too." Pipsy glared at Severus. "Master, you could have saids we woulds be having company."

He smiled at her. "Pipsy, I brought company with me."

The little elf walked away muttering, before called over her shoulder,"I wills be bringings the tea."

When Pipsy was out of sight Hermione smacked Severus on the arm. "You shouldn't tease her like that."

He smiled cheekily, something she didn't know he could do, and leaned down to press a soft kiss on her lips. "Maybe not, but she has teased me a lot over the years on how I need to get her a baby and mistress to look after."

Though she was incredibly tempted to attack him with her lips, she decided that asking for a tour would be better. "Are you going to show me around or are we going to have tea standing in the entrance?"

While Pipsy took the time to prepare the tea, Severus led her around the house, showing her every room. It wasn't until he paused outside a particular set of double doors, that she finally raised a brow in question.

"It's my bedroom," he said softly.

Hermione flushed, before gathering her courage, and stepped around him. Reaching out, she grabbed the doorhandles before finally pushing the door open.

_**So, what did you think? There may be a bit of a time skip to the next chapter. Hogwarts maybe? I don't know, what do you think?**_


	15. Chapter 15

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's. Though, it's more like 69.987654321% I've put in a lot more Severus P.O.V.'s than I was expecting to when I originally started writing this.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**Anon Review Replies  
**

**Lilly - I'm glad that you liked it! And I hope that this satisfies! Thanks for the review!  
**

**Guest (10/31) - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it!  
**

**Guest (11/1) - Thank you for the review! This chapter has what happens in Snape's bedroom!  
**

**_As always, thanks go to Aimless Wonder for their wonderful beta-ing skills._  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón**_

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

**~Severus's P.O.V.~**

Severus watched as Hermione looked around at the walls in silence before stepping forward to run her fingers through the blue curtains that hung around his bed.

"Surprised?" he asked softly from his position in the open doorway.

She turned to him. "It's not quite what I was expecting."

"Oh?" He smiled as he raised a brow at her. "Let me guess; you were expecting a lot of green, silver, and skulls?"

"I just wasn't expecting it to be blue." She smiled back, and stepped towards him. "The green, maybe. Or black, since that's all that you're usually seen in. But not the skulls. "

What she did next happened so fast that he was almost confused. Almost.

One second, she was looking at his room, and then the next, her arms were around his neck and their lips were connected. The room was suddenly extremely hot, and he turned her around and pressed her against the door, pushing it closed.

In response, she wrapped her legs around his waist and tightened her arms, pulling him closer. Their tongues dueled for dominance as he grabbed her hands from around his neck and lifted them up against the door with one hand, slowly rocking his hips against her.

Severus heard her moan of appreciation as her head fell back against the door, his lips moving automatically down to the curve of her neck. He was suckling at her pulse point before he suddenly felt her tense up beneath him.

"NO!"

Her exclamation was followed by her pushing him back away from him.

"Please, don't!" she cried, sobbing as she sunk down onto the floor.

Severus was angry for a span of about three seconds before the reason for her sudden hysteria suddenly hit him. He remembered what she had told him of the Battle of Hogwarts. Immediately, he fell to his knees, cautiously bringing his arms to wrap them around her.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," he said, trying to calm her down. "I didn't think. I'm sorry that I did that, knowing what happened at Hogwarts."

He couldn't to whisper apologies to her as she shook in his arms. It wasn't until he felt her body relaxed that she finally spoke.

"It's not your fault." Hermione shook her head and pressed her face into his neck. "I was the one who kissed you. I'm so sorry. It's just that... when I felt my hands against the door; it's how he held me when he... did that to me."

She started crying in earnest, and gripped his shirt in her fists. "I'm so sorry that I pushed you away. So sorry!"

Severus started rubbing her back. "I should have thought about it, Hermione. I'm sorry, I was just caught up in the mo-."

There was a soft knock on the door. "Is Master and Missus still wanting teas? It will be gettings cold soons."

Severus sighed. "Of course. We'll be out in a moment, Pipsy."

He continued to hold Hermione in his arms for a few minutes longer before standing, pulling her up with him. "I'm sorry again, Hermione. Are you all right, now?"

She nodded her head as she wiped away the tears. "It's fine. And don't apologize for the kiss; I wanted it just as much as you did."

She leaned against him, pressing her head against his chest.

"It felt so good," she started, voice muffled by his shirt, "but I just freaked out when you held my arms against the door; it scared me."

She was shaking in his arms again, and he tightened them, and leaned down to press a kiss against her hair. "I know that you won't hurt me. I guess that I'm just-"

"Don't worry about it, love. I understand." He pulled away and held his hand out for her. "Tea?"

She took it and nodded, smiling wobbly at him. "Thank you, Sev."

_**% Minerva's P.O.V. %**_

Minerva McGonnagall shuffled the papers around on her desk as she continued addressing the envelopes to the new batch of would be first years. After they had discovered that the first couple hundred of Harry's acceptance letters had been addressed to _Harry Potter, The Cupboard under the stairs_, Minerva had gotten rid of the automatic addressing system and had split up the job between the teachers for the different years. This way, if a worrisome address were to ever appear on her roll for any of her students, Minerva would then notify the Aurors about there being a potential problem with the child's home life. She'd already done so for several families; one particular address on the list had been listed as _Terrence Mortile, Pit In the Basement._

However, despite all this, it had done nothing to stifle her mood. Minerva was still looking forward to the first year of school after the war, and hoped that it would go well.

* * *

_*** Hermione's P.O.V.***_

She couldn't help but grin as she walked through Scrivenshafts's in Hogsmeade, humming softly to herself as she picked out a few nice quills for use when she started grading papers. Hogwarts was due to start in two weeks, and she couldn't be more thrilled. She was going to be moving into Severus's rooms tomorrow, to get used to it before he himself arrived the following day.

During the day, she would probably be spending most of her time in the library. Assessing the damage to the archives would be a timely task, but Hermione had spent more time in the library in each of her individual school years than any Ravenclaw had ever done during their whole time studying at Hogwarts.

**Sorry that it's short, but it's more of a filler, and I didn't want the chapter to run too much.**


	16. Chapter 16

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it, I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy. (SnaMione or whatever it's called).**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's. Though, it's more like 69.987654321% I've put in a lot more Severus P.O.V.'s than I was expecting to when I originally started writing this.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. They've been together for nearly nine weeks in this chapter. Figured I'd throw that out there, just in case anybody was wondering.**

**P.S.S. Foible – A minor weakness or eccentricity in someone's character.**

**P.S.S.S. I'm so very incredibly sorry about how long it took me to write this chapter. I will put up what I was originally going to have as chapter sixteen as a side story, though, keep in mind it is incomplete. You will recognize a portion of it when I put it up, because it is a flashback in this chapter.**

**P.S.S.S.S. It's a time jump.**

**Anon Review Replies  
**

**Sammy - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it!  
**

**Tortugita - First of all :) the first thing that I thought of when I saw your anon name is of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Second. Trust me, I would not react to the news of this at all like 'Hermione' is in the story. I'm not hurt, or offended by your review, as like any..._ sensible _writer can say... don't know where I was going with that, but I'm not upset. I'm honored that you would put that much time and thought into the story to review like that. I wish I could say that her characterization get's better, but I don't know if it does. I guess all that I can say is this is fanfiction so it will never be just like she is in the stories. Because none of us on this website (as far as I know) are the wonderful J. . Thank you for the review! Anje  
**

_**This chapter was beta-d by the ever wonderful Aimless Wonder. Who got this to me in two days, despite the fact that he had to deal with power outages. **_

**Deseo del Corazón**

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

Severus burst through the door of the _Defense Against the Dark Arts _classroom, startling both _Gryffindor_ and _Slytherin_ alike, who had all been waiting silently for him to show up. He glared at them as he passed and made his way to the front of the room. As if she were oblivious to her fiancé's mood, Hermione gave all of them a smile as she followed in after him before winking at Harry and Ron.

When he reached the front of the room, Severus turned and waved his hand at those seated. "How you were able to make it into the final level of _DADA_ is a question whose answer continues to allude me."

Hermione glared at him. "Is it really that hard to say 'Congratulations for being intelligent'?" She saw his eyebrow twitch, but he continued speaking.

"Hopefully, you will not behave like complete dunderheads, but I doubt that will be the case."

"Incapable of saying 'I hope you do well', also?" She crossed her arms and glared out the window.

In front of them, the students looked as if they couldn't settle to be amused, or terrified at their argument. Ron looked as if he had decided it was funny when Severus' entire face started twitching, and snorted.

"Ten points from _Gryffindor_, Weasley! and detention Saturday night."

Hermione turned towards him swiftly. "You can't take points away and give detention because he snorted."

"This is my classroom," Severus said, seething as he ground his teeth. "You are merely shadowing me. You cannot decide how I discipline my students."

"And you can't treat students like that just because you've got a damn Hippogriff shoved up your bloody arse!"

At her remark, gasps sounded from around the room, and the students suddenly leaned back in their chairs as fear starting to set in. It seemed that only Harry and Draco had kept a calm head, probably because they were ready to intervene if it came to throwing hexes between the two of them.

Hermione stepped up closer to his side, but remained a few feet away. "What are you going to do Severus? Give me a detention? Take points away?"

He turned and pointed a finger at her. "GET OUT!"

"I AM NOT SOME FUCKING CHILD THAT WILL BOW TO YOUR EVERY WISH. YOU SHOULD GROW A SET AND ACT LIKE A MAN OR–"

"YOU WILL NOT DISRESPECT ME LIKE THIS IN FRONT OF MY CLASS! GET OUT!"

"I WILL LEAVE WHEN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! YOU'VE BEEN ACTING WIERD EVER SINCE THE DAY THAT I MET PIPSY!"

_**~Snape's P.O.V.~**_

Severus closed his eyes and sighed, looking back over what had brought this on.

_*Flashback*_

_Severus walked into his quarters– 'No, our quarters' he told himself in reprimand. He looked around the living room and noticed that Hermione wasn't in there. He waved his hand at his stuff, and it flew off to put itself away. He looked into his office, and the office that would be hers, only to find them both empty. Moving on, he opened the door to the bedroom, and his eyes fell to the lump under the covers on the bed that was slowly rising and falling in time with her breaths. Severus walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down, and began to take off his shoes. Hearing her stirring, he turned around to find Hermione's eyes looking into his._

_She rubbed her head, before leaning back on her elbows. "What time is it?" she muttered, voice thick with sleep not yet fought off._

_He spoke quietly. "Nearly eleven." He reached over to push some strands of hair out of her eyes and tuck them behind her ear. "Good morning."_

_"Morning."_

_Much to his amusement, a blush slowly crept up her cheek as his gesture._

_He moved his hand down to to cup her cheek as he leaned down. Before their lips touched, however, she jumped backwards and fell off the bed in her attempt at getting away. "Not before my teeth are brushed." Getting to her feet, she made to grab her toiletry kit off of the vanity, but groaned when she remembered that she didn't unpack anything. Grabbing her wand from on top the bedside cabinet, she waved it at the bag, causing it to suddenly expand, to the point that it was almost starting to fall off the edge. Severus watched as she opened it, rummaging around for a few seconds and withdrew her small kit before disappearing into the bathroom._

_He was plopped on to the bed, lying with his hands tucked behind his head and looking up at the ceiling, when the bathroom door opened again. His eyes moved from the ceiling as Hermione approached him, climbing onto the bed and stradding him. He let out growl in pleasure as her hands run up his chest before she leaned down and pressed a kiss against his lips. His hands shot to her waist, pulling her flush against him, arousing a moan from the both of them._

_She ground herself down on him and twisted her fingers into his hair, pulling their heads tighter together. In response, Severus them over, reversing their positions, and pressing her backwards into the bed. Her hands slid down his shoulder and down to his chest, where her fingers started to undo the buttons on his shirt._

_Before they could undo the third, however, he brought a hand up and wrapped it around her wrist before leaning away. "I think that we should stop," he whispered breathily._

_She leaned up on her elbows, glaring slightly, up at him. "Why?"_

_*Flashback End*_

She had ignored, evaded, and avoided him since that day, and even though she had said that she was happy that they were getting married, Severus doubted that she was. He suddenly felt a stinging across his face.

"AND NOW YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ME. FINE. I'LL JUST LEAVE, YOU INSUFFERABLE– "

Severus grabbed her hand before she could follow through with her comment and yanked her into him.

Sighing, he threw up a privacy charm around them; though the fact that the Weasley twins had opened a joke shop in Hogsmeade negated his efforts that with their new, privacy proof extendable ears that could hear through even the strongest charms. If that hadn't been enough, Harry had also seen fit to pull out his wand and cast a light _Sonorus _on them, enabling everybody in the room to listen in on their conversation.

"You know that I haven't had a good child hood," he said softly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Add to that, all of the crap that I had to do when I was a spy, and I've come to realize that I don't deserve you. It wasn't you meeting Pipsy that weirded me out; it was when I realized that I was maddeningly, hopelessly, and so irrevocably in love with you." He tightened his hold on her. "It completely scared me. You would have to search hard to find anybody who would tell you that I am a good man, and even then you probably wouldn't be able to believe them. I've never felt love. I loved Lily Evans like a sister, and I loved my mother despite the fact that she couldn't protect herself from my father. I even loved my father, despite the fact that he used to abuse us."

Severus took a deep breath. He looked up at her and gave her a look that had the girls in the classroom sighing as he took another deep, shuddering breath. "I don't deserve you. I've done so many terrible things in my life, and there's not enough good in it to–"

"Stop."

***Hermione's P.O.V.***

She pressed a finger against his lips as she whispered the word.

When his mouth snapped shut with an almost audible snap, she very nearly smiled, and would have, if this wasn't such a serious discussion.

"I think you're confused. It's not you that doesn't deserve me; it's I that don't deserve you. You were a successful spy for nearly twenty years, and if it weren't for you, many more innocents would have been killed in the war. I wasn't actively trying to avoid you after you pushed me away"– she shook her head –",I just buried myself into my work so that you'd have room to think things through, because you seemed like you needed it. Well, I wasn't avoiding you after the first day."

_*Flashback*_

_Hermione stomped her way through corridors and up staircases towards her destination._

_The library._

_Arriving in front of the tall oak double doors, she reached forward and grabbed the large, golden handles, hesitating as a sense of nostalgia overcame her– this was where she had spent the majority of her time as a student– before she braced herself and pushed forward against the doors, causing them to creak heavily as they were swung open._

_The room was a mess._

_Books were strewn across the floor, and several rows of shelves were knocked down. After securing the latches for the doors to keep them open, Hermione walked through the devastated room– which had become a battleground during the final battle– and got to work. Her wand in full flow, she gathered the fallen books and set them on the tables before she went about repairing and lifting the damaged and fallen shelves to their former states. When that was done, she started sorting through the books, and returned them to their proper places in the large library._

_She worked through the day, only leaving a couple of times for a bathroom break. Pipsy kept popping up and offering help or food. Hermione had accepted the food and smiled at her, but had said that she could handle it._

_Other than Pipsy's visits, Hermione worked quietly, and by the time she was ready to leave, it was past midnight._

_Humming, she made her way through the silent castle, back down towards the dungeons to Severus' and her quarters. Stepping through the portrait, she entered what was the sitting room and plopped down on the couch next to Severus, who was reading through a tome. Taking off her shoes, she pushed them under the edge of the couch. "Hello," she said to him, only to get no response. Huffing, Hermione rose from the couch before storming off to the bedroom, unaware that he was watching her back as she left._

_*Flashback End*_

Thinking back to another memory, Hermione froze, and raised a hand to cover her mouth. "Oh."

"What?" he snapped.

Feeling a little light-headed, Hermione focused her attention back on him. "My mother said that when she and my father first got together, they were very distant with each other. Opening up little by little. She said that she didn't realize that he loved her until they had an incredibly heated argument in the middle of a crowded restaurant. She told me that she realized that she loved him when he started to turn around to leave and he ran into a waitress holding a tray and got absolutely covered with food. She said he looked up at her with such an innocent, shocked look in his eyes that she realized that she couldn't imagine her life without him."

She watched as his features softened, and then fell into the all too common mask that he wore. "And what is the point of telling me this?"

"I think that it just hit me."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What hit you?"

Reaching under his arms, she wrapped her hands around his lower back. "That I can't imagine my life without you. At the beginning I was skeptic and afraid, since, as we've already said, we've never been terribly fond of each other. I think that these past two weeks, I've been frightened that you pushed me away because you regretted being together with me."

"Hermione," he interrupted, "I could never regret being with you. And even if I did, it wouldn't matter with this bloody law."

Her right hand had retracted and swung up so fast that she hadn't realized what was happening until it was stinging and red hand print started to appear on Severus' face. When she spoke, her voice was dripping with venom. "So what? You're saying that if we weren't shoved together with this law, you would regret being with me?"

Severus reached his hands out to grip her shoulders. "That is the second time that you've slapped me in the last five minutes without giving me an opportunity to finish what I was saying." There was a loud clang and Severus took off the privacy charm and turned to the students who tried not to look like they had heard every word.

He opened his mouth to talk, but Hermione spoke first. "No homework, we'll see you next class."

When they were all gone, Severus turned to her and snarled, "Why didn't you give them homework?"

She didn't answer his question; she was too busy pulling his face towards hers. She wrapped her fingers into his hair. "Because, sir Knight, you're really hot when you're angry, and I've had to use every bit of self-control that I possess not to jump you when they were all in here."

She tried to pull his head down, but he stopped her.

"Not here. If you're feeling half of what I am right now, then we're going to need a bed."

**What did you think? Again, I'm so incredibly sorry that it took so long to update, I just couldn't figure out where I could go with what I had. The end of the story might, I repeat **_**MIGHT**_ **be near. I don't know. I want...** **No I need to know what you as the readers want from the rest of this story. I need ideas. You guys have been such a wonderful inspiration, but I've had to fight tooth and nail to get this chapter finished. And please don't hate me for leaving this where I did. I just could not get the lemon in. I don't know why my creativity has decided to jump of a bridge and die a painful death, but they did, so FTW.**


	17. Chapter 17

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it, I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy. (SnaMione or whatever it's called).**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's. Though, it's more like 69.987654321% I've put in a lot more Severus P.O.V.'s than I was expecting to when I originally started writing this.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**As always this chapter was betad by Aimless Wonder.  
**

_**Deseo del Corazón**_

**Chapter Seventeen**

_She sat on the edge of the wall atop of the Astronomy tower, nursing a nearly empty bottle._

_Taking the last sip, she dropped the bottle over the edge, and leaned forward to watch it fall. She didn't realize that she was leaning too far until she was free falling, arms and legs spread eagled._

Hermione sat up abruptly in the bed, gasping for air like she couldn't breathe.

As she tried to calm herself, she felt movement beside her.

"Was'samatter?" Came a sleepy voice from the other side of the bed. Turning, Hermione flung herself into Severus' arms before she started sobbing into his chest. "It's only a bad dream, Hermione," he said, obviously fully awake, now.

"I know." She sniffed as she wiped at the tears. Then, as if realizing where she was, she pulled away and moved back to her side of the bed. "Sorry," she muttered.

Hermione felt him run his hand down her side. "Don't apologize. I'm here for you."

She turned over and stared up into his dark eyes, his gaze seeming to burn into her. "Thank you," she said softly, before leaning forward and pressing their lips together. As he pulled her flush against him, her eyelids dropped shut and she gave a sigh.

His hands moved until they were gripping her hips tightly, while her own ran themselves up his chest and fisted the material of his T-shirt. Leaning her head away, Hermione moaned when his lips immediately moved down to the side of her neck, tracing right over her pulse point. He guided her onto her back on the bed before he leaned back himself and hovered above her, holding his weight on his arms. She reached up and fisted her fingers into his hair, to which he answered by grounding his pelvis into hers, causing her to groan softly before she pulled her head down to her for a kiss.

"Severus," she whispered, staring softly up at him.

"Yes?"

"Touch me."

There was a short pause before she felt him reach a hand down to the hem of her shirt, and slowly started to slide it up, making sure to run his palm under the cloth. Hermione lost herself in his touch before he leaned down again for another kiss. By the time their lips had parted, Severus had already divested her of the shirt, and he pulled back for a moment to look down at her before he spoke softly.

"You're beautiful."

She blushed as she leaned up and pressed their lips together again.

Closing her eyes, Hermione thought back to all the daydreams she'd ever had where this had happened. She had wanted to be in this position for many years, and now that she was finally there, all that she wanted to do was cry. His hand was suddenly on her face, and she opened her eyes to look at him. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, voice laced with concern.

She felt her face soften, and she raised her hips to grind up against his erection. "I…" she paused, forgetting what she was going to say, before thinking over what had been going through her mind. Her eyes bore into his as she whispered a soft "I love you", as if it was the answer to his question.

As she tilted her head so that she was leaning into his hand, he leaned forward, and just before he pressed their lips together again, he sighed. "As I love you."

When the sun was rising the next morning Hermione was entombed in the arms of her future husband, friend, and as of last night, lover.

She stretched inadvertently, causing her bum to rub against his manhood, eliciting a sleepy moan from the man. Lightly pulling herself out of his grasp, she quietly slid herself off the bed before making her way towards the bathroom to have a shower.

"_I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut,_" she sang as she stepped under the hot spray coming from the shower head. Grabbing the bottle of shampoo off the small, metal shelf, she popped the lid before squirting the shampoo onto her palm. "_My weakness is, that I care too much_." Massaging her scalp, Hermione spun lightly on the grip mat spread on top the marble floor. "_Our scars remind us, that the past is real, I tear my heart open, Just to feel,_" she sang loudly, and, keeping her eyes closed as she rinsed her hair, Hermione didn't notice Severus slip into the large shower stall behind her, and gave a scream when she heard his voice whisper in her ear.

"Having fun?"

Spinning around, she had her hand extended to hit him, but Severus brought his hand up to stop it; the movement was so fast, that it was a blur to her.

"Trying to slap me now, are you?" he said, trying to hide the grin on his face.

"Merlin, Severus. I'm so sorry." Her hands were covering her mouth, and she looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. "I didn't hear you come in."

He reached his hands out to pull hers away from her face as he gazed down at her nude body. "You've got an amazing singing voice, dear."

As their eyes met, Hermione gasped at the heat she saw in his. She hesitated for a moment before leaping towards him, and smashing her still swollen lips– a result of last night's love making– against his. As his arms came around to hold her, Severus swung them around until he was pressing her up against the wall of the shower, where she brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist. "When did you wake?" she said, gasping as Severus dipped his head down to suckle along her collar bone.

"I was awake long before you were," he grumbled against her skin. "I just didn't say anything when you woke."

Though she was new to the act of love making, she rocked her hips boldly against him, causing them both to groan loudly. "How long do we have until breakfast?" she asked breathily before pulling his face back to hers.

"Long enough!" he groaned, before pressing himself to her entrance and slowly pushing inside.

Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table beside her friends with a wide smile on her face. "Morning!" she said brightly, earning several weird looks from the people who had been in the DADA class the day before. Two of them were courtesy of Harry and Ginny, the former opening his mouth to say something, but Ron interrupted him.

"Was'got'choo'sho'appee?" asked the redhead around a mouthful of cereal.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, Ronald," she chided, turning to him (she noticed the way Ginny's gaze shot to her neck). "You're almost eighteen. I thought by now you would have at least restrained yourself from speaking with your mouth full!"

Ron rolled his eyes at her comment, and she gave him another look of mild disgust before turning to Harry and Ginny. Ginny made a subtle motion to her neck, and confused, Hermione brought a hand up to touch her own. She nearly gasped when her fingers brushed against an inflamed spot and she realised what the younger girl meant.

Severus had left a hickey.

"Morning, 'Mione," greeted Harry.

"Did you do your homework?" she asked, attempting to distract him as she let her hair down to cover the mark Ginny had seen; Ginny gave her a wink and a thumbs up.

He grinned devilishly at her, not seeming to notice what had passed between Ginny and her. "I didn't have any homework. There was an argument in my first class, and the Professor never showed up for potions after lunch."

Hermione felt her face heat up as the blush appeared, causing both Harry and Ginny to start laughing. She bowed her head before she mumbled, "He didn't say anything about having classes yesterday afternoon."

Ginny laughed harder before she was able to get out the words, "I imagine neither of you said much of anything yesterday!"

Ron choked on his food, finally understanding the turn the conversation had taken. "You didn't sleep with the bloody git, did you?" he exclaimed, causing the people closest to them to turn towards their conversation.

She glared at him. "Whether I slept with the man who is to be my husband is no concern of yours." She stood up from the table. "I will see you later," she said harshly before spinning on her heel and marching out of the hall with an angry scowl on her face.

When she entered the library, it was completely empty. She sat down heavily in the chair that sat behind the counter near the doors, and started going through papers.

She knew Severus had entered before he spoke; whether that was from hearing the familiar sounds of his footsteps, or the fact that he nearly always smelled of herbs, and man.

"Dare I ask what happened?"

Her eyes shot to his, after gorging on his body, and glared. "Why didn't you mention that you were supposed to be holding classes yesterday afternoon?"

A subtle blush burst across his cheeks as he spluttered slightly. "If I recall correctly, you were just as distracted as I was."

"But I didn't know you had classes! Now the whole school knows," she yelled out.

"They don't know. The best that they can do is make an educated guess on what little they know about what happened yesterday."

"Which, at Hogwarts, is just as good as knowing everything!"

He didn't say anything, but allowed to simmer in her seat for the moment.

Hermione looked down at her hands before a sigh left her lips

"I apologize. I don't mean to yell, it's just, Ginny saw this mark on my neck. She teased me a little, and when Ronald finally made out what we were talking about, he practically yelled, asking if I had slept with you."

She saw him stiffen at her explanation.

"If the idea of sleeping with me upsets you so much then you should have said no!" he snarled, before turning around and making his way towards the exit.

Hermione stood and ran after him swiftly. "I never said that it upset me, I just don't like having my private life spread across the school like week old gossip. If we make love, then it is of nobodies business except yours and mine."

He exited through the door, and she followed. "Miss Granger, I've been known as a malignant bastard for close to, if not longer than, twenty years. We are to be married, and have children, there will be rumors about us."

"But you're not a malignant bastard, you were just forced to act like one since you chose to be a spy."

He glanced sideways at her as they continued walking. "I think you may be slightly biased."

"HERMIONE, DUCK!" came a familiar yell from behind them.

Hermione jumped to the side and knocked Severus onto the floor with her before looking up quickly enough to see Errol fly face first into the wall in front of which she had been standing.

"Errol?" she asked shakily, having feared the worst.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny came up beside them, and reached hands out to help them up.

"Bloody bird," growled Severus as he wiped his clothes. He looked up at her and asked softly, "are you okay?"

She nodded, before turning to her friends. "Why is Errol trying to kill me?"

Suddenly a purple envelope appeared in front of her face, having pulled itself off of the unconscious birds leg.

"Greetings and Salutations to the future Mr. and Mrs. Snape. We would like to inform you that the date for your wedding is set. Congratulations, you are to be married on the second of January! Have a nice day."

The letter exploded, and Hermione's hand flew to her throat, as if it would help her breathe. She turned woodenly to Severus.

"Three months," she gasped, before falling backwards unconscious.

_**What did you think?**_


	18. Chapter 18

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it, I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy. (SnaMione or whatever it's called).**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's. Though, it's more like 69.987654321% I've put in a lot more Severus P.O.V.'s than I was expecting to when I originally started writing this.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. I know that this movie isn't in theater anymore. Leave me Lone.**

**P.S.S. If the lyrics are wrong, blame a-z lyrics .com.**

**Anon Review Replies  
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**lovealan - thanks for the reviews, and here you go. Anje  
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**guiltypleasure2 - Thank you, I know, and Thank you. I'm glad that you liked it. Anje  
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**notlori925 - Thanks. And I'm sure like any other school, her sex life was already being speculated upon, especially since she's well known. I'm glad that you liked it! Anje  
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_**By the way, if you have a request for any pairing, send it to me. I do a lot of different pairings, in case you haven't noticed, and am interested on any thoughts you might have.**_

_**Deseo del Corazón**_

**Chapter Eighteen**

The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was that she was in the infirmary. The second: that there was a soft and warm hand holding hers.

Turning her head to the side to look, Hermione caught sight of Ginny sitting back in a chair next to the bed, eyes closed in sleep. Seeing only the redhead, she opened her mouth to speak, but Ginny's eyes suddenly opened at her slight movement. "Professor Snape, though reluctant to leave your bedside, had a class to teach, and it just so happens that the class was eighth year potions."

Closing her mouth, Hermione gave her a smile in gratitude, before she frowned. "Did I really get a letter announcing my wedding date?"

Ginny patted her hand before comfortingly nodding her head. "And then you fainted." When Hermione didn't speak Ginny continued. "Were you really that shocked? You knew this was coming."

"I'm afraid," Hermione whispered, so lightly that Ginny had to strain to hear her.

"Of what?"

"That he'll change... after we get married." She sniffled, wiping away at the tears that had start to fall down her face. "I'm afraid that he'll decide that he doesn't want me. Afraid that when we get older, that he'll realize that I'm not, and never will be good enough for him."

Ginny motioned for her to scoot to the side, and when Hermione did, climbed into the bed beside her, before she leaned forward and Hermione found herself pulled into a hug. "Do you love him?" Ginny asked lightly.

"Yes," she cried, "and that's why this is so hard. What if one day he decides that he doesn't love me anymore?"

"Then I'll kill him. And then after that, I'll have Harry and my brothers bury the pieces of his body... whatever's left of him, anyway."

***Severus's P.O.V. ***

"Stupid nitwits," he growled for the third time in the five minutes they had been walking towards the _Hospital Wing_.

Severus heard Weasley huff as both he and Potter followed after him.

"The 'stupid nitwits' can hear you, sir."

Stopping in his tracks, he turned to look at the two of them. "Does this look like the face of a person who gives a damn, Weasley?"

Except for some light grumbling from an irritated Ron, they made it to the infirmary in relative silence. The only sounds in the large room were from the springs of the beds, and that of the two occupants at the far end, near the windows.

"Do you love him?" He heard the voice of the youngest Weasley ask his wi– fiancé.

"Yes!" she cried, and Severus shot a glance at the two standing beside him. "And that's why this is so hard. What if one day he decides that he doesn't love me anymore?"

Severus's eyes narrowed.

She was doubting him. He started to raise his foot to step into view when Ginny provided an answer to the rhetorical question. "Then I'll kill him. And then after that, I'll have Harry and my brothers bury the pieces of his body... whatever's left of him, anyway."

In one second, the world seemed to come to a standstill, before exuberant laughter was heard throughout the wing, and Severus felt something he would probably never find the correct words to describe burst in his chest. If he were to look in a mirror at that moment, he was sure that he'd see a goofy smile, reminiscent of a Gryffindor, on his face.

"Gin, save the threats for me! I'm sure that I'll be the type to threaten castration while in labor."

His eyebrow twitched slightly, much to the amusement of Harry and Ron, but his lips dropped, and his color faded when Ginny supplied a comment on that topic.

"You know that you'd probably be able to get away with it too, right? Blame it on the hormones."

Harry groaned quietly, and when Severus looked at him oddly the boy-who-lived just motioned for him to wait. "But Ginny," Hermione started, "I wanted to.. _blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol_!" The brightest witch of her age sang, as if she were not sitting on a hospital bed.

_**~*~Hermione's P.O.V. (ish)~*~**_

Hermione smiled when her best female friend started singing along with her. "_Blame it on the vodka."_

_"Blame it on the henny_."

They girls smiled as they continued singing loudly together. "_Blame it on the blue top, got you feeling dizzy."_

Hermione froze when she heard the door open and approaching footsteps, instantly falling back on her bed, and motioning Ginny to her seat. "How were your classes, Gin?" she asked.

Ginny opened her mouth to answer when they heard Madame Pomfrey to speak from the other side of the curtain that hung around her bed. "Severus, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she greeted. "Why are you just standing there at the curtain. She is allowed visitors."

Hermione swished her wand and the curtains disappeared. She narrowed her eyes at the three men standing right outside of where her curtain had been. "Were you listening in on our conversation?"

She watched as Severus blushed (Poppy's eyes widened as she took in his expression) before he started to mumble. "It's not my fault… I didn't do it on…" He looked up at her with a smoldering look. "If you were having a private conversation, you should have put up a privacy charm."

"Stop it," she muttered, oblivious to the horrified looks that Harry and Ron were now shooting between them.

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling. "Stop what?"

"Stop trying to distract me with the smolder, you keep trying to do that ever since we watched Tangled together."

_*Flashback*_

_"Why are we doing this?" he grumbled as she dragged him by the hand through the front doors of the large building._

_Looking around she walked up to the counter. "I'd like two to see Tangled, please," she said, sliding a card across the top._

_The young man that was standing behind the cash register nodded and pushed a few buttons on the modern screen before a few tickets printed out through a slit in the table top. He handed her back her card and gave her the two tickets. "Enjoy your movie!"_

_Hermione dragged him through the line at the snack counter, and after purchasing a large drink for the two of them, and a large popcorn, they made their way to the theater. "Why are we doing this?" he grumbled again._

_She gave him a look out of the corner of her eyes. "Because, Severus, it is my night to choose our date, and I wanted to go to the movies. I've heard good things about this movie."_

_"But–"_

_"No. I've done everything that you've asked, without complaint might I add," she continued. Ignoring his snort, she only glared at him as they sat down in the nearly empty theater. "You can sit through this one muggle movie with me."_

_"Fine."_

_Despite the fact that Severus was obviously quite reluctant to even think about enjoying the movie, Hermione noticed that he was slowly getting into it, slightly relating to the character of Eugene Fitz Herbert, a.k.a. Flynn Ryder._

_When the end of the movie rolled around, and they were walking down a boardwalk in muggle London, he tightened his arm around her shoulders. "I guess that it wasn't as bad as I had originally imagined it was going to be."_

_"I'm glad." She leaned against his side as they walked down the road._

_*Flashback End*_

He grinned and turned to Madame Pomfrey. "Is she allowed to leave?"

The healer waved her wand at Hermione and nodded as each diagnostic spell came back okay. "Yes." She looked at Hermione. "I want you to eat a good lunch, Ms. Granger."

Severus stepped forward. "I'll see to it that she does."

_**~~~ Later ~~~**_

They both stood in front of the bathroom mirrors, in various stages of brushing, flossing, and hair combing.

"How is it going in the library?" he asked gently, between times of spitting foam into the sink.

"Okay. Classes?" she said, tugging a brush through her mess of curls.

After rinsing out his mouth he moved so he was behind her and gently took the brush from her hand, before he proceeded to brush her hair lightly. "_DADA_ is going good, but you knew that already."

She smiled at him through the mirror. "And _Potions_?"

"As well as teaching a vast amount of complete dunderheads can go," he said, finishing her hair, and setting the brush down on the counter behind her.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Fainting. I was just–"

"Scared?"

She nodded, but started talking. "Yes, but not because we're getting married. I'm afraid because–"

"Because you're afraid that I will stop loving you."

She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I knew that you were listening."

He pressed a soft kiss against her temple. "Time for bed," he said before grabbing her around the waist and carrying her to the bed.

**So. What did you think? I'm trying to add more interaction between them.**


	19. Chapter 19

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I am not, nor will I ever be J. K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it, I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy. (SnaMione or whatever it's called).**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's. Though, it's more like 69.987654321% I've put in a lot more Severus' P.O.V.'s than I was expecting to when I originally started writing this.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**P.S. I love you. You are the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen. I could search the world for the rest of my life, and never find somebody that comes close to having your beauty. I'm sorry that I upset you my love. I thank the heavens for the day the ministry pounded on your door, and made you take that stupid potion that declared you and I soul mates. (If it comes out wrong, blame Google Translate. I have not yet saved up enough money for Rosetta Stone.)**

**P.P.S. Sorry for how long it's been since I've updated. And though I can't promise that the next update will be sooner, I wish that I could. I just wanted to let you know that I will NOT, I repeat NOT abandon this story! Or any of my others!  
**

**By the way, if you have a request for any pairing, send it to me. I do a lot of different pairings, in case you haven't noticed, and am interested on any thoughts you might have.**

_**Thanks again to my awesome beta Aimless Wonder! He (or she) never ceases to amaze me.**_

_****_**Anon Review Replies  
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**notlori925 - Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it! Anje  
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**Guest - Thanks! I hope that you like it! Anje  
**

**Deseo del Corazón**

**Chapter Nineteen**

A hand ran down her side, and she opened her eyes to look into his. "Morning, Sev."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips into her neck. "Morning, Wifey."

She sat up swiftly, narrowly avoiding knocking their heads together, eyes flying to her hand. "Holy fuck, you scared me."

He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "I thought that you weren't opposed to the idea."

Hermione's eyes fell to him. "I'm not.. that's not what I meant."

He stood up, and his hands tightened in his hair, arms flexing as if trying to pull it out. "Then what did you mean?"

"I was afraid–"

"Yes, I know, you were afraid. You said that yesterday. You were afraid that I would stop loving you. Do you want to know what I'm afraid of? That you will never love me! That you will always think of me as some kind of monster that tormented you and your friends when you were young." By the time he got to the end of his rant, he was yelling.

Tears streaming down her face, Hermione stood up, waving her wand for a cleaning charm and then another wave to summon her clothes back onto her body. Before he could grab a hold of her, she walked towards the door, only pausing to toe into her shoes. Throwing the door open, Hermione paused in the open frame to look back over he shoulder at him. "I was going to say that I was afraid that I slept through it, that I didn't remember our wedding. But right now, at this moment, I'm just afraid of how horrible you're making me feel." Shutting the door softly behind her, she made for the entrance to his quarters and exited.

Her trek to the Gryffindor tower was slow, and Hermione fully intended on unloading to Ginny as soon as she saw her. However, when she finally arrived in front of the Fat Lady, she realized that she didn't know the password.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, reaching a hand out to support herself on the wall beside the portrait. "I don't know the password."

"It's farva beans," said Severus' from behind her.

She wiped a hand across her face, before turning to him. "Why... Why did you follow me? I thought it was obvious that I didn't want to talk to you right now."

"I followed you, and I refuse to let you leave after an argument like that, without both of us having our full say."

**_Ginny's P.O.V._**

Harry, Ron, and Ginny, including several other Gryffindor's were making their way to the portrait to go down to breakfast.

"Why did you follow me? I thought it was obvious that I didn't want to talk to you right now."

"Shh," hushed Ginny, effectively silencing the chatter of the Gryffindors around her as she recognized Hermione's voice.

"I followed you, and I refuse to let you leave after an argument like that, without both of us having our full say."

Sending a look at Harry and Ron, Ginny saw that they, too, were tense.

"You didn't give me the chance to finish! I tried to speak, but you wouldn't let me. When you said that, I was afraid that I had missed what is supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, and for you to just flip on me like that was so incredibly hurtful."

Ginny caught the frown on Harry's. He, like her, could tell from Hermione's voice that she was crying.

"Does anybody know a charm that will allow us to see through the door?" whispered Harry.

"Try 'occulum appeareo'," came a whisper from the back.

Raising her wand, Ginny pointed it at the portrait. "Occulum appeareo."

At the incantation, the portrait turned transparent, giving them all a view of Hermione and Professor Snape standing out in the corridor.

"I'm sorry," started Snape, and when Hermione opened her mouth to speak, he pressed his finger to her lips. "Let me finish. Even though I did not extend the same courtesy to you, let me finish." When she nodded, he pulled his hand back. "I called you 'wifey' because I was trying to see what it sounded like in the morning. I'm sorry that I said that I was afraid that you will never love me, and that you would always think of me as a monster."

Ginny smiled when she saw Hermione lean against his hand that was on her cheek, with tears rolling down her face. "I'm sorry that I still feel like I'll never be enough for you. I have nothing to offer you. I'm not very pretty, and I'm sure that you could find somebody smarte–"

He put his finger to her lips again. "_Je t'aime. Vous êtes la plus belle femme que j'ai jamais vu. Je pourrais chercher dans le monde pour le reste de ma vie, et de ne jamais trouver quelqu'un qui vient près d'avoir votre beauté. Je suis désolé que je vous exprime mon amour contrarié. Je remercie le ciel pour le jour où le ministère a martelé sur votre porte, et vous a fait prendre cette potion stupide qui a déclaré que vous et moi des âmes sœurs_."

"I have absolutely no idea what you just said," said Hermione, reaching a hand out to touch his cheek. "But it was most definitely the most beautiful thing that I've ever heard. I had no idea that you could speak French."

She bumped her head against his chest. "How are we going to do this?" she asked, as Snape wrapped his arms around her waist. "We're both so incredibly insecure in what we do and say. We argue all of the time, and I don't think that a day has passed that this whole thing started that I haven't been even the slightest bit angry at you."

"Easy. When we have a baby we'll be able to spend our time being insecure about our parenting skills, that we'll have no time to worry about our insecurities with each other."

Hermione's head turned to the door, and they all saw a devilish smile on her face. "It's a good think that you're so blasé about a baby, because I'm pregnant."

"Really?"

"Of course not, you keep using the contraceptive charm, how am I supposed to be pregnant?" she said, leaning back to smile up at him.

"Next time you say those words, you had better mean it. I don't think that I'll be able to live through another jolt to my heart like that."

"Severus?" she said lightly.

"Yes?"

"Can you not use the charm later?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You're not saying that just so you can sit back and watch Potter try and kill me after you get pregnant are you?"

She grinned at him. "Maybe. Even you would have to admit that it would be hilarious. Harry just randomly starting to yell at you for deflowering me, impregnating me, making me an incubator for your batty spawn."

"Batty spawn?" he growled, causing her smile to drop. "If a single one of your friends decides to call our children batty spawn then I will have them gutted and hung in the Great Hall."

"You will not!" she said, crossing her arms in front of her. "You can't just hurt people when they do or say something that you don't like."

Severus pulled her against him, and purred into her neck. "So says the woman who slapped me twice the other day, and last night dug her nails so deep into my back that it bled for an hour."

"If you keep speaking like that you'll miss today's classes."

"Actually I don't have any classes today. But you still have to tend to the library."

Hermione eyes seemed to darken.

"That's what magic is for, my dear." She smirked when he grabbed her arm and started to pull her away. Ginny removed the charm on the door, and turned to find Ron and Harry rubbing their ears.

"Gin, why did you make us watch that? It was like floo sex without the floo," Ron said.

Ginny smiled her most innocent smile. "And what exactly, is floo sex, Ron?"

_**Hermione's P.O.V.**_

After performing both security, and privacy charms on the library doors, Hermione pushed Severus against one of the many tables. Reaching her hands up, she yanked on the sides of his shirt so hard that the buttons flew off. "You're not wearing your robes?" she said, leaning forward to press her lips against his chest.

"I just threw on some clothes so that I could chase after you."

"I love you," she whispered, before moving her mouth to suckle his neck.

"And I you."


	20. Chapter 20

**First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I am not, nor will I ever be J. K. Rowling. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it, I probably don't own it**

**Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy. (SnaMione or whatever it's called, I personally prefer Grape).**

**Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.**

**Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody else's. Though, it's more like 69.987654321% I've put in a lot more Severus P.O.V.'s than I was expecting to when I originally started writing this.**

**Fifthly, I will never beg for reviews, but I would greatly appreciate them. I'm all for constructive criticism, and would also greatly appreciate that, but as for my number two, flamers please go easy.**

**And last, but most certainly not least, Enjoy!**

**By the way, if you have a request for any pairing, send it to me. I do a lot of different pairings, in case you haven't noticed, and am interested on any thoughts you might have.**

**P.S. Sorry that I haven't been replying to the review recently! On my next day off from work I'll go back and reply to them!**

_**As per usual, thanks go out to the ever amazing beta Aimless Wonder! Thank you for your wonderful editing.  
**_

Deseo del Corazón

Chapter Nineteen

**75 Days and Counting**

Hermione sat next to Severus in the stands that surrounded the Quidditch pitch. "I'm so excited," she said cheerfully.

She didn't notice the odd look he gave her until he said, "I was under the impression that you hated Quidditch."

Smiling at him, Hermione leaned against his side. "Oh, I do. But I never got to spend close to two hours cuddled up against a devastatingly handsome, and shall I say it, warm man. Therefore it will be much better than previous Quidditch games that I've been too."

He gave her a warm smile as the players walked out on the field.

**~0~0~**

Harry flew in circles around the pitch, trying fervently to catch sight of the elusive, golden snitch. His eyes ran over the players, before they finally fell on Draco Malfoy, who was speeding upwards towards... the snitch! Pulling the handle of his Firebolt upwards, Harry hugged himself close to the broom before shooting off after the blond Slytherin.

The roaring of the wind covered the sounds of cheering from the stands below as Harry quickly caught up along to Malfoy's side, both of them reaching a hand out towards the fluttering ball. It wasn't until it suddenly changed direction, darting down towards the pitch that Harry decided to execute a move that he'd been practicing.

Loosening the one-handed grip he had on the handle, he threw himself off of the side of the broom, and starting to free fall towards the ground hundreds of feet beneath him, his left hand still outstretched towards the snitch; as it quickly closed in on the ball, Harry pulled his wand out with his free hand, wordlessly casting a summoning charm on his broom. His fingers closed around the snitch as his now, he tucked his wand back into his pants, and he brought it back up to catch his broom before swinging himself back onto it, his left arm thrust into the air.

**~0~0~**

Hermione clenched her fists tightly as she walked towards Harry who had landed back down on the turf. The fellow Gryffindors, who had seen enough of her rage to know not to get in between her and whoever she was about to chew out, moved off to the side. She was about two meters away from Harry when he saw her, and his eyes widened.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?" she screeched. "After all the shit we went through last year, you decide that you want to try and kill yourself to catch a bloody snitch!" She did not notice (nor care) when a Slytherin placed her under the Sonorus Charm. "HOW DARE YOU! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO GINNY? SHE'S ONLY BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU SINCE SHE WAS TEN YEARS OLD, AND NOW THAT THE TWO OF YOU ARE FINALLY ENGAGED SHE COULD LOSE YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY. WHAT ABOUT RON?"

"'Mione," he said calmly.

"WHAT ABOUT ME, HARRY? YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND AND THE CLOSEST THING TO A BROTHER THAT I WILL EVER HAVE. WHY WOULD YOU―"

Harry stepped forward and placed a hand over her mouth. "Hermione Jean Granger. If I was going to kill myself then I would have done it after the D.O.M. incident." She tried to shove his hand off, but he held it firm. "And do you seriously think that I'm stupid enough to try a move like that without having practiced it first, and made sure that I was even able to do it? I'm not the type to throw myself off of a broom just for a game, and you know that."

Her eyes moistened, before she shoved his hand away, and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I was so worried. I haven't been this worried since Godric's Hollow."

Harry hugged her back. When they stepped away from each other, Harry opened his mouth to say something when Ginny came along and punched him in the arm. She was smirking. "I was going to threaten to do horrible things to your 'bits', but decided that with the thorough dressing down that our darling Hermione just gave you, that it wasn't necessary. But she didn't hit you, so I figured that I could do that."

Harry pulled her into his arms, just as a hand fell on Hermione's elbow and started to lead her away.

"He can be such a bloody git sometimes," she murmured softly to Severus, wiping away the solitary tear that had fallen.

"It's okay, love."

**~0~0~**

**73 Days and Counting**

"I don't see why I have to be here," Severus grumbled to her.

The two of them were seated at a small table in one of the few private rooms at the Three Broomsticks.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione sent him a look. "It's your wedding too, Sev, and I refuse to do the planning on my own."

"You wouldn't be doing it on you―"

"Well as I live and breathe, if it isn't Severus Snape, finally settling down."

They both turned around to look at the wedding planner.

"Sylvia?" he asked as the witch approached.

Sylvia reached her hand out to Hermione. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Ms. Granger. I have heard so much about you."

Hermione shook the proffered hand, snorting at her comment. "Do not believe everything that you've read in the Daily Prophet. I can guarantee that I have never slept with Harry, Victor, or, on Rita's especially horrific days, Sirius Black. Nor was I involved in any awkward love triangles with Ronald or Harry."

The other woman smiled brightly before holding her arm out towards Severus. "That's good to hear; less trouble down the line for your marriage." She took the seat on the opposite side of the table. "Now, the Ministry informs me that your wedding is to be on the Second of January. What I need to know is; where you will have the wedding; who you are inviting; where will you be holding the reception; what will be on the menu; what will your colors be; and if you have a theme what will it be. I need as many details as possible." Then, as if it were an afterthought, she added, "And who will be the bridesmaids and groomsmen."

Hermione leaned down and pulled what looked like a child's journal out of her bag, with a dark blush gracing her cheeks. "Now, I know that most of this will need to be changed, as this was the way that I wanted my wedding to go when I was eight. And I quite doubt that I will be able to get Jackie Chan and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin to battle for entertainment after the ceremony."

"And what of the venue?" Sylvia asked.

Hermione looked over at Severus and raised an eyebrow, allowing him to request something.

"The only place that I could think of holds, I'm sure, horrid memories for the both of us." At her curious look, he continued, "The gardens at Malfoy Manor would be my only suggestion."

Hermione looked out of the only window in the room. "I didn't see the gardens, I just saw the large hedges."

He reached over and caressed her face. "This is exactly why neither the ceremony nor the reception will be held there."

She looked at him tenderly. "As long as we would be alone, or with Sylvia there with us, I would be willing to see the gardens if you so wanted."

"I will see if Lucius and Narcissa would care. Narcissa may want to join us so that she could apologize for everything that happened."

Hermione's face turned contemplative. "I don't think that I would mind if she were there―Harry told me what she did for him in the forest. In fact, I think that I would like her to be there. Never hurts to have a second opinion."

The smile he gave her was radiant, seemingly impressed that she would even think about having their wedding, or reception in the gardens at Malfoy Manor. "What were your suggestions, love?" he asked softly, still astonished.

She opened the small book in front of her. "Mommy told me that she and Daddy got married in a big white church. I don't think that I want to be married in a church, churches are for people that believe in a higher power. I think that I would like to get married in an open field, surrounded by magic," she read out.

Sylvia smiled as she nodded. "We can certainly arrange for that, especially the magic part. Did you have any 'fields' in mind? "

**~0~0~**

Having finished with brushing her teeth, Hermione rinsed her mouth out before wiping her face with a small towel. She gave herself a passing look in the mirror before exiting the bathroom, turning off the light as she went. However, as she stepped back into the bedroom, she couldn't help but pause in the doorway.

Severus lay sprawled out on his back on the bed, his arms spread, and snoring lightly. Hermione snorted before approaching and sliding in beside him, her head on his chest, and an arm across his torso.

As she dozed off next to him, she felt his arm wrap around her, holding her tightly against him.

**Do I even need to write the same question that I almost always leave here at the bottom? I shall do it anyway. What do you think?**


	21. Chapter 21

**This is the 21st chapter. If you don't understand that I don't own Harry Potter, or any things associated with Harry Potter, then you are a cotton-headed ninny-muggins. It is a bit shorter than previous chapters. I am putting an explanation of these changes of events up on my profile, so check it if you'd like. Sorry about the wait.**

**Enjoy.**

**Anon Review Replies**

**kimber - As per usual, your review just brightened my day. I'm glad that you like this story so much! I've actually done that to stories, in fact, when I was still reading twilight fanfiction, there was this story called Life's Little Choices, by My-Bella, and it was amazing, and while waiting for an update, I lost track of it. When I came across it again, it was finished, and I reviewed on every chapter that I had missed. It amused her. Thank you for your review! Anje**

_**This chapter was beta-d by the ever amazing Aimless Wonder.**_

**Deseo del Corazón**

_Mishap by the Ministry_

_By Rita Skeeter_

_To my dear readers,_

_Following an emergency meeting held by the Wizengamot, Ministry officials were notified that the previously, re-enacted marriage law has been disabled, and that its reintroduction into Wizarding society was seen as a gross misjudgment._

_As most were aware, the law stated that of the two individuals chosen: one is to receive the potion; the other is forced to abide by the law itself. This had led to the mass bouts of suicide undertaken by those individuals who had found themselves unexpectedly paired to others they had considered to be their enemies._

_This was stated as the main reason for the meeting at the Ministry yesterday, which concluded with the majority vote (by the members of the Wizengamot) in favour of disabling the law, and thus freeing couples from their arranged unions._

_On a more personal note, mostly for those of you out there who have managed to fall in love with the person you have been paired with, I pray that this has not caused great distress to your relationship, as it has mine._

_Though I had not, initially, been considered as eligible for the marriage law, as it applied to those under a certain age, I did, however, request to be allowed to take the potion. This was due to the reality of my age, and the fear that came with it; of living the rest of my life alone._

_Like many others, the man that I was paired with was not pleased with his predicament, though, eventually, it seemed that he had come to terms with the arrangement. However, as soon as the news of the annulment came, he wasted not time in packing up his things and leaving._

_Following his departure, I have decided to go travelling, and do not know when or—dare I say it— __**if**__ I will ever return._

_I wish you luck, and would like to wish you well._

_Farewell._

There was chaos around her. Rita's revelation having brought forth a response from everyone in the Great Hall; most were laughing; some screaming; a sad few were even crying. Ignoring them, Hermione looked towards the Head Table, her gaze immediately latching onto Severus. From her seat, she could not properly make out the expression on his face, but she could guess that it was not pleasant.

"Harry..."

At Ginny's voice, Hermione looked across the table to see the redhead sitting anxiously in her seat, her gaze fixed on her fiancé.

"Harry—" Ginny started again, but Harry cut her off.

"Will you marry me?"

The smile that Ginny sent him was blinding, and her body seemed to relax. "Of course," she said before the two embraced each other.

Deciding to give them some space, Hermione stood silently and left the hall, making her way down the corridors leading towards her and Severus' quarters.

_Will he still want to marry me? He said he wanted to, but what if he doesn't? What if he hates me again..._

_I don't know if I could live through that. Not when I've finally found the one person that will always be there._

**Chapter Twenty- One**

Severus walked through the door moments after Hermione had sat down on the couch.

"Hermione."

She motioned for him to sit next to her, and placed her hand over his when he did. "Do you think that you would be able to speak with Narcissa? About changing the day of our visit."

She felt him tense.

"Of course. I shall tell her that we need to can—"

"I want it to be sooner, can you see about tomorrow?"

"What?"

It was obvious, that of all the things he had been expecting, her request to push the wedding forward had not been one of them.

"I know that I fainted when we were told about our marriage. And I know it made you worried that I regretted it." She looked at him seriously. "But I don't. And I'm done with waiting.

"I've spent my whole life wishing and dreaming that something wonderful would happen to me. And it did." Hermione gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "You, Severus. _You_ happened to me."

He reached his hands up, gently cupping her face. Staring deeply into her eyes, he quietly asked, "You still want to marry me?"

"I want to be with you for as long as you love me. Maybe even longer. Severus, you're my—"

But what she was going to say was cut off when he leaned forward to claim her mouth.

* * *

**With Harry and Ginny**

"I'm sorry that it took me so long to tell you that I liked you in my sixth year," whispered Harry as they sat in the empty stands surrounding the pitch.

They'd retreated there wanting to be away from everybody else.

"I'm sorry that I was too captivated by you my first two years to be able to calm down and get to know you."

"I'm sorry that you did not get to keep the Seeker position."

She leaned into him. "I'm sorry that Dumbledore never told you that you were a horcrux."

His grip on her tightened momentarily, before he relaxed it. "Me too, most of the time. For a while there I was trying to imagine why. Things would have gone a lot more differently had he taken the time to explain things to me, instead of assuming that I was too young to know. But then again, if I had known, then I don't think we would have gotten together at all in sixth year." He looked down and found her staring up at him.

"I know that I wouldn't have risked it had I known."

* * *

**With Ron and Lavender**

"I need to tell you something."

Ron tilted his head questioningly, looking at Lavender who had perched herself on the edge of his bed. "What is it, love?" he asked, reaching over and caressing her hand, only to frown when she jerked it away before making an attempt to play it off by lifting it up to her head and smoothing down her hair. "Lavender? What's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant."

Mind whirling, Ron stood up slowly from the bed, his entire frame shaking as he began to loose control of his magic. "Get out," he whispered.

"Ron, I'm so sorry!" she cried as she came around the bed towards him. "Please—"

"GET OUT!" he screamed, stopping whatever she had about to do. "GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed, finally backing away from him, before turning and walking out the door.

Her response only fuelled his fury, and Ron paused for a second before following after her.

"YOU'RE SORRY?" he bellowed. "I LOVED YOU! I'VE LOVED YOU FOR YEARS! I LIED TO MYSELF SAYING THAT I WAS REALLY IN LOVE WITH HERMIONE TO GET OVER YOU! WE WERE GOING TO BE MARRIED!"

By then they reached the bottom of the staircase, and even when she'd already run up the girls' staircase, he stood at the bottom continuing to yell up after her.

"YOU LIED TO ME! I TRUSTED YOU!"

"What is your problem Ron?" came the voice of Seamus Finnigan, from his seat at one of the tables by the window.

"MY PROBLEM IS THAT THE WOMAN THAT I INTENDED ON MARRYING JUST TOLD ME THAT SHE'S PREGN—"

"That should be a good thing, mate. You've always been great with kids."

Ron shook his head and made his way to the common room door. Before he left, though, he turned and snarled, "Well, how can it be my child when Lavender and I have never had sex?"

The atmosphere in the common room was cold after he'd left, despite the warm of the roaring fire.

* * *

**With Luna and Neville**

"Are you sure?" he asked her quietly.

"Oh, yes, I'm quite sure," she said in her dreamy voice. "You are the only one that has kept the nargles at bay long enough for me to realize that the butterflies that seem to have taken up residence in my stomach are really just a physical representation of how I'm feeling. Of course I still want to marry you, Neville. You're the only man for me. My knight in—"

"Red and yellow?" cut in Neville, looking down at his body.

"You are also the bravest man that I've ever met. You scare away the nightmares on the evenings that we go gallivanting through the forest, or when we go dancing in the clearing of the moon flowers."

He smiled fondly at her. "I love you, Luna. You, and all of your quirks."

**What did you think?**


	22. Chapter 22

**I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. I OWN... NOTHING IN THIS CHAPTER.. I own Sev's house elf.. and Lavenders baby...**

**Anon Review Replies**

**Kelly- (Chapter 7) - I know, and I'm sorry, just Hermione-Third-Person-Occasionally-Omniscient seemed too long. Thank you for the review, and I'm glad that you liked it. I don't know if you'll get this far into the story, but if you do, thanks. Anje**

**Aimless Wonder, I can never say thank you enough for the wonderful beta work that you have done. This story wouldn't be half as good as it is if it weren't for you. Thank you so much for everything!**

**P.S. Sorry if this chapter disappoints you all.**

**Deseo del Corazón**

**Chapter Twenty-two**

Malfoy Manor.

A place she had sworn to never again step foot in, following the events of the war. And yet, it was now the venue for her wedding ceremony.

Sighing at the irony of it all, Hermione ran her hands down her wedding dress, swallowing the lump in her throat as she stood in front of the mirror in one of the rooms located in the eastern wing of the large house.

The dress itself had only cost her a couple hundred pounds. Hermione having decided to go with a muggle design, as opposed to the traditional wizarding robes, as she, herself, had been raised as a muggle. And though her parents had more than happily offered to pay for her dress, Hermione had insisted that the money she'd received from her _Order of Merlin First Class_ would have more than covered for it. It had been an entirely different affair with Severus' wardrobe. Though, in the end, she had let him decide whether or not he had wanted to wear a dinner jacket.

Smiling at her reflection in the mirror, Hermione thought back to the day the two of them had toured the gardens. Ginny and Harry had also accompanied them, both of them having sneaked out of their classes for the day.

_*—Flashback—*_

_Hermione suppressed a shiver as they walked down the Hogwarts grounds, choosing to lean into Severus' warmth as his arm came up around her shoulders._

_"Hermione, everything will be fine," said Severus, sensing her anxiety._

_"Besides," came Ginny's voice from Severus' other side, "if they try anything I can always hit them with a __Bat-Bogey__ hex; I haven't used that spell in a while."_

_"__Though, I'm not as cruel, I've got a pretty mean __Expelliarmus__," added Harry. His head appearing around Severus' chest and she caught the smirk on his face._

_Hermione smiled. "I know, but I do want to make a good impression," she said, unconsciously trying to smooth down her hair. "And Lucius is practically a brother to you, Severus," she explained. "And I know that our past encounters—"_

_"Hermione," Severus interrupted, his hand reaching up to tilt her chin upwards so that she was looking up at him. "You would not know this, but during the war, many of the former death eaters left; many of them had already started families—they had children. Something which they had not had when they had initially joined Voldemort in the first war. The ones that chose to stay were those that had nothing to live for other than Voldemort, himself; Bellatrix was an obvious example._

_"__Not long after your escape from the manor, Lucius sent me an owl telling me of the incident, and expressing how sorry he was that he could not help your group, due to the presence of Greyback and Bellatrix."_

_Throughout his explanation, Hermione felt her eyes gradually widen (her housemates were no exception) and she realized how silly she was being._

_"__I know that apologies will not change what had been done to you," continued Severus, "but he was in near hysterics. He may seem harsh (among many other things) but under all the pureblood clothes and teachings; Lucius really is just a fluffy bunny."_

_Hermione stiffened her posture at the last bit, before pushing herself out of his embrace so that she could take a step back._

_Severus paused at her action, before catching the unsure look she gave him. "Hermione?" he asked, voice concerned._

_Smirking internally, Hermione turned her expression up another notch before asking very seriously, "And how on earth could you possibly know what Lucius Malfoy looks like under his clothes?"_

_She watched as his eyes widened before he began spluttering out gibberish, all in an attempt to explain himself. All the while, she didn't shift her expression._

_It was Ginny and Harry's laughter that made him pause, and he turned to find the other two Gryffindors giving him pitying looks as they held clutched at each other, their bodies shaking with mirth._

_When Severus finally returned his gaze to her, Hermione had already replaced her expression with that of her housemates._

_An adorable crimson-blush stained his cheeks before he glared at her. "I'll have you know that I was merely speaking metaphorically," he grumbled, before steeling himself. Seemingly trying to ignore the snickers coming from beside him. "Are you ready to leave yet, love?" he asked after moments of annoyance._

_It wasn't until he had said it that Hermione realized that the four of them had already passed the main gate, placing them outside the protective wards surrounding Hogwarts. She hid what little she had left of her anxiety behind her __Occlumency__ shields, nodding as she stepped back into his embrace._

_As Severus held her tightly, he looked towards Harry, who held Ginny in a similar embrace._

_The Gryffindor nodded. "I know how to get there."_

_Hermione closed her eyes as the arms tightened around her, a second later feeling the familiar pull at her navel, before they were pulled through the asphyxiating tube of apparation._

_The first thing she noticed when they landed was that the gates to the Malfoy estate were wide open, granting them entrance, and Severus showed no sign of hesitation as he pulled her forward. The other two falling into step with them._

_As they trailed down the long path, she took the time to admire the compound around her; the hedges had been trimmed and were no longer as tall and imposing as they had been the previous time she'd been here. Her visual of the scenery was cut short, however, when she happened to glimpse towards the door of the manor and noticed the two people standing there. Hermione felt apprehension at the sight of them, though it eased down when she caught the smile on Narcissa's face, the older woman appearing just as anxious as she was._

_"__Welcome, everyone," Narcissa greeted, having already come down the front steps to meet them, before focusing her attention on Hermione. "Now, Severus informed us that you were looking to use our gardens for your wedding."_

_Seeing the anxiety up-close on the others face, Hermione took in upon her herself to ease the others doubt. So she pulled Narcissa into a light embrace. "Yes," she said when they finally broke apart. "He mentioned that when properly tended, and not being used as… Um..." She trailed off, not sure she wanted to color the mood with that particular description. "Well, he said that, normally, they were beautiful!" she decided to finish with instead._

_Turning to the man standing beside Narcissa, Hermione reached her own out to shake the hand of the Malfoy patriarch. "Thank you for letting us come today, Mr. Malfoy," she said, trying to put as much sincerity as she could, despite the apprehension she felt._

_However, when he took her hand, and then gently lifted it up to his lips as to brush them across her knuckles, Hermione found it extremely difficult to stop the blood from rushing to her face._

_"Please. Do call me Lucius," he stated. "And it is I that must be thanking you, Ms. Granger. You've made Severus the happiest that I've seen him since our school days."_

_The blond shot the __Potions Master__ a smirk as he released her hand, at which point, Severus pulled Hermione against his chest and grumbled, "Flirt with someone else, Luc."_

_Lucius turned to Harry and Ginny. "Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley," he said, dipping his head towards them. "I offer my sincerest apologies to you and your family for all the difficulty my son and I have caused."_

_Harry smiled as Ginny left his side to whisper something to Narcissa. "We'll tell them, Mr. Malfoy," he said. He then gave a shrug of his shoulder. "Actually, the main reason I wanted to come along was to thank Narcissa." He waved a hand at said woman. "If she hadn't lied to Voldemort back in the forest, I'd be dead."_

_Even as he spoke, Hermione was still surprised at seeing both Ginny and Narcissa embracing in a hug. When the two finally pulled apart, she wasn't the only one looking at them._

_"__What?" asked Ginny._

_Hermione shook her head as Severus rolled his eyes._

_"__Nothing," he said. "Come on. Let's show Hermione the gardens... before the women folk start crying."_

_*—Flashback End—*_

The gardens really had been beautiful, she thought. And so, too, was the ballroom that the Malfoy's had offered for holding their reception.

It was an offer they had, of course, accepted. Because despite the fact that Hermione had thought it too large, with the decorations that had been put up it looked absolutely gorgeous.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening behind her, and she turned, letting out a gasp as Ginny and Luna entered the room.

"Oh my God. You two look amazing!" she voiced, smiling at the golden creations they both donned. Each slightly different in style, though, together, they looked wonderful.

"Not as amazing as you, 'Mione," Luna said, her hand coming up to finger Hermione's bodice. "And I love the beading on this."

The two of them had helped Hermione pick the dress out, since Ginny had more fashion knowledge than she, and Luna was honest (brutally so) when she thought it could be better than it was.

Ginny's smile looked a tad sad. "It's a shame about your father's injury, though" she said. "Talk about bad luck."

Her smile fell a little at that. "I know," she sighed, her mind going back to the incident that occurred a week ago. "He's still disappointed that he couldn't be the one to walk me down the aisle. But at least he's in the audience."

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, alerting them to the arrival of the man who was to walk her down the aisle.

_*—Flashback—*_

_A soft thrum signaled her arrival in the alley next to the hospital, and Hermione wasted no time in exiting it before making for the entrance. Practically bursting into the reception area._

_"Ma'am, can I help you?" asked the nurse at the reception's desk as Hermione came skidding to a halt in front of the counter._

_"My father, Richard Granger, was brought here by ambulance about an hour ago," she said quickly, trying to catch her breath, and waited as the nurse entered the name into the database._

_It was several seconds later that the other finally supplied, "He's two floors above. Room 205."_

_"__Thank you!" Hermione said over her shoulder as she made for the door leading to the stairwell, having decided to forgo the elevators._

_She reached the second floor in record time, only slowing down to take note of the signs indicating the directions of the different rooms. Within seconds, Hermione found herself standing in front of the door that guarded her father's room._

_"Daddy?" she called as she entered, having already knocked._

_She found him propped up against the pillows, reading the paper._

_"__Hermione!" He smiled as he saw her. "Your mom left a while ago to get some coffee."_

_"What happened?" she asked, taking in the sight of his elevated leg, which also had a brace around his knee._

_There was a light chuckle behind her causing her to turn and Hermione saw her mother standing there._

_"Your father tripped over a gopher hole in the backyard and threw his knee out when he slammed it against the mini-stone elephant," Jean Granger explained._

_"I won't be able to walk without crutches for at least two weeks." He grimaced. "I haven't had any trouble from my clumsiness for years, and, of course, a week before my daughter gets married, I injure myself. I'm so sorry, sweetheart."_

_*—Flashback End—*_

"You girls about done in here?" came Harry's voice from the doorway as he peaked through the open doorway, letting out a low whistle when he caught sight of the three of them. "Woah. Hermione, you look..." He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence as he stared at her in amazement.

"Speechless. Wow," she drawled, an amused smile on her face. "I must look pretty damn good then."

Harry nodded, before giving a gentle snort. "You really do, Hermione," he said, smiling softly.

Hermione returned it. "Thanks, Harry," she replied, before turning to Ginny. "And thank you, Gin, for lending Harry to me for today."

The redhead laughed softly, reaching forward towards her to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "He was your brother long before he was my fiancé," she said even as she reached down to adjust Hermione's dress slightly.

It was then that her mother and Narcissa entered the room, and Jean reached over and laid her hand on Harry's shoulder. "Richard sent me to thank you, once again, for walking our little girl down the aisle," she said, giving him a grateful smile.

Harry grinned at her. "Don't mention it, Mrs. Granger. Hermione's been with me with me every step of the way since I first arrived at Hogwarts. And she's had to save my life one more than one occasion. This is the least I can do for her, and I'm incredibly honored that you both asked me to do this."

Trying not to cry, Hermione reached forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I love you, Harry," she said. "You're the greatest friend and brother anyone could ever ask for."

"TIME TO GO!" Squealed a clock that had been charmed for the occasion.

Jean stepped over to them, and once they'd separated, reached up and carefully pulled the veil down over Hermione's head. "You look stunning tonight, darling," she gushed, eyes watering as she fingered the material.

"Thank you, mum."

"I'm so proud of you, honey!" Jean cried, allowing a few tears to fall.

"Oh gods, mum, don't cry!" Hermione lifted a hand and wiped the tears from her mother's face. "You're going to make me cry, and then I'll never stop."

"OUT OF THE DOOR, YOU LAZY BORE!" the clock screeched, causing them all to laugh.

Narcissa walked up to Jean and touched her arm. "Come now, Jean. Let us go take our seats."

After they'd left, Harry turned Hermione towards him. "Are you absolutely positive that you want to do this?" he asked, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ginny and Luna standing a bit straighter.

Hermione gave them a reassuring smile before straightening up to her full height. "I've never been this sure about anything in my entire life," she told them. "This is what I want."

"IF YOU DON'T GET HARRIED, YOU'LL NEVER BE MARRIED!"

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" laughed Harry, his grip on her shoulders loosening as he gave her a lopsided grin. Giving a quick kiss to Ginny, he turned back towards her and held out his arm. "Let's get 'Harry'd', 'Mione."

Sporting a grin of her own, Hermione linked her arm through his, before the four of them turned to walk out of the room, and to the rest of her life.

* * *

**This is the end. Kinda hurts to be saying that. I know that my updates have gotten further and further apart, and that the quality of the chapters, has wavered a bit, you guys have been the best. All the wonderful reviews, and even the negative ones. You guys are the most wonderful inspiration.**

**Now, I don't want to get your hopes up, but I'm thinking of doing a sequel. It may not be very long, and as any other author (fanfiction or original) I cannot promise that it will be good. But I don't plan on uploading anything until I get halfway through with it. Thank you again, for all of the wonderful reviews, and I will cherish them forever.**

**I know that his might seem rushed, (jumping to the end, not the updates, we can all agree that those weren't rushed despite my best efforts), and I'm sorry. I love you all, in a completely platonic way.**

**Anje**


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